What are your mealtime rules/traditions and when do you eat dinner?

[Sunny Love]

We simply have a motto "A family that eats together, stays together." Not always possible, but it's a lovely thought all the same I think

[fionas]

DP is never here for dinner (he works late shifts) which makes it a bit trickier. At the moment, golden rule is TV OFF, everyone sits at the table NO MATTER WHAT and no-one leaves until everyone has finished.

I am a bit relaxed on DD1 leaving if she's had a particularly tiring day and she's about to have a meltdown.

I try to make sure dinner is on the table around 6pm. Sometimes, it's earlier. DD1 rarely snacks so I don't really have a rule about the latest she can eat.

She does sometimes refuse dinner, in which case all the rules stay the same - must turn off TV, must come to table and must stay and talk until I've finished.

[Rach75]

dinner time we all sit at table, well luke sits beside table in high chair...we have no tv in dining room, we have taken to having music playing though which is nice...

there is no slouching or leaning on the table thats about the only rule

we sometimes give jack a time limit on how long it takes to eat dinner cause he can take over a hr to eat a smaller meal than his 16mth old brother *sigh*

but yeah other than food is eaten at the table

[sirenz]

We eat dinner at the table. Dinner is usually ready by 6:30pm (I sometimes work until 10pm, so I prepare dh and ds dinner before work so they can eat it when dh gets home). we turn off the tv and no one leaves the table until we have all finished eating, (plates do not have to be emptied, just eat until we are full).

DS usually has a snack when dh gets home because thats what dh does when he gets home, they will share an apple or if they are lucky and I have been baking, they will have a cookie or something.

Weekends are more relaxed, we eat on the lounge in front of the tv ds has a special toy story tray he uses at these times.

[ShootingStar]

Dinner is usually 5.30-6pm.
No food after 3.30-4pm.
We all sit at the table.
Everyone stays until everyones finished.. unless DS is taking his time.. which happens often.
No talking because then they spend the whole time talking and not eating.
They dont have to finish their plate but they wont get dessert to anything else to eat until breakfast the next day if they dont.

[Rainbow_Mumma]

We have a few rules:-
We eat at the table and the table only for meals (im a bit more relaxed about this with snacks etc through the day)
No snacks after 4
The kids are to clear there plates and put plates in the sink afterwards
And a new rule no drinks until at least half the meal is eaten otherwise DD2 would just fill herself up on her drink
And as I'm dishing up DD1 MUST go to the toilet otherwise we will get 5 mins in and she'll need to go

Dinner is usually around 5.30-6

[Arcadia]

Family dinner every night at 6:30-7pm
Because it is late, I do let DD snack in the late arvo, but try and limit them after 5pm (its hard though because she's a grazer)
DD helps set the table
DD can get down after she has had a good attempt at eating, but we don't leave the kitchen until everyone's finished (sometimes that means dd draws at the table etc until we're finished)
Whoever cooks gets to relax after dinner (which usually involves playing blocks or stories with DD) while the other parent cleans up

[Sopdet]

For us, dinner was a family affair (kids all grown up now), everybody sat down together, at the table, no outside noise (so tv off, but stereo usually on in the background, but there was always music on in our house, so it was like white noise). Even now when the family gets together, everybody at the table, even the kids in their highchairs for the duration, it is a social affair, we talk about our day. Prayer before (what type depended on who's turn, mix of Catholic and Pagan in the family).

I will be keeping up the tradition as much as possible.

[Artechim]

We have dinner around 5.30-6pm.
Telly goes off at tea time and doesn't go on again until DS is in bed.
DS has to ask to leave the table. He doesn't have to empty his plate but sometimes has to have 3 more bites of xyz before he can go if he hasn't eaten enough.
He has to take his plate up to the bench when he is finished.

[Jellyfish]

We eat around 4-4:30pm as DD goes to bed around 5-5:30pm. No real rules, we don't say grace and it is just me and her but we eat together.

[*TripleJ*]

we dont have rules at the moment coz DS eats at 5:30 and we eat later he has to sit in his high chair though he put himself in coz it a low one