Fighting at the dinner table

Hi,
It's not enough that the kids have been fighting all day but to top it all off we sit down to have dinner and the boys start again. We'll I had already had enough, I picked up my plate and went to eat in the rumpus room, in peace. I told them if they fight one more time at dinner both of them will be eating outside because they are behaving like animals. They seem to constantly arguing at the table and I can't take it any more. DS #2 told me I'm a bad mum. Do you think sending them outside is a bit drastic? I honestly don't know what else to do.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards,
Dianne

Bloody hell dianne!!! When I was a kid we would NEVER EVER dream of misbehaving at the table, let alone tell our mother she was a bad mother! Of course it's not drastic. IF kids don't have consequences, how do they learn?

Top idea, that should sort them out :lol:

Hi Dianne,

I am 24 and even imagining behaving like that with my parents makes me break out in a cold sweat even NOW!
I don't think making them eat outside is drastic at all especially considering you've given them fair warning as to the consequences of their actions.
Once they realise that your serious about your threats they'll change their tune!
Good Luck

If I had dared act that way I am sure my mother would have said something along those lines too :rofl:

Actually come to think of it my stepfather and I used to bicker like your boys and I do beleive my mother threatened to leave the house and never come back :ROFL:

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If I had dared act that way I am sure my mother would have said something along those lines too :rofl:

Actually come to think of it my stepfather and I used to bicker like your boys and I do beleive my mother threatened to leave the house and never come back :ROFL:

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I agree that it's pretty funny except when my mum threatened that she went and cried outside in my cubbyhouse for two hours... my mum never cried... and two hours, ****. It was scary.

Dianne, I think it's perfectly acceptable. Nothing wrong with that and you are certainly not a bad mum.

If they're going to behave like animals, all the food goes into a bowl on the floor of your porch and they can eat like that until they're ready to apologise and behave properly.

That threat worked on us as kids! But my parents were BIG on table manners and thus if I used a fork incorrectly that would be the threat. Heaven help me if I was holding cutlery while I took a drink!

You're not a bad mum, your son is a bad son. See how he likes that!

When my kids fight too much at the table I send one of them (whichever is being the worst) to eat at the kitchen bench alone...

I threaten them with the outside eating thing to but they think thats a treat *sigh*

Happens at my house too. When they are like this they take forever to eat.
If they are really bad DH and I will get a bowl of ice cream once we have finished and eat it in front of them. They soon learn to knock it of when they are told :lol:

We also threaten them with going to bed early and it tends to work sometimes.

Hi, DH and myself wont put up with the kids mucking up at the dinner table,if they want to carry on like pork chops,lol,they get sent to bed early without their dinner,it really gives them something to think about.In our young days we were not aloud to speak at the dinner table unless spoken too by our parents,then came all the chores afterwards,packing up dishes,clearing the table,etc........times have changed a little,but our kids dont push too often,they know what the consequences are.:rolleyes: