Family Meals

I have always eaten meals as a family. We all eat breakfast together - sometimes DD14 eats first as she has an early bus. At night we only ever eat sitting down together at the dining table. It is always set. Always have music. Almost always we have candles.

It is DD5's job to set the table. DD6 and DS8 job to clear it. DD14 to help scrape and pack the dishwasher. DD6 or DS8 sweep. (at night)

I was shocked to read that "many families eat together only once a fortnight"...

What do you do in your family?

Are these stats really true...

(I am feeling decidedly wierd...)

Well, if you're weird Flowerchild, then I am too!!! DH & I eat together at the table every night. The only exception is if he has an early soccer game on Monday nights, I usually don't wait for him because I am starving by then.

I set the table completely also. DS still eats dinner early around 5-5:30pm and DH doesn't get home from work until 6:30ish which is when we eat. Yes, I have his dinner ready to go when he walks in the door :) DS will have his warm milk while we eat so he is still involved with us.

Even if we get takeaway, I'll still set the table and we eat at the table.

After dinner I clear up and wash dishes, load dishwasher, etc while DH bathes and puts DS to bed.

I'm a big believer in eating together as a family. I enjoy it and it's something I will insist on for my family as we grow older.

Okay well that's two of us! Did you eat as a family growing up? I know we did. So, I guess it's a positive I have got from my family of origin!

We ALWAYS eat dinner together (unless Jazz is sick and is asleep, or something like that etc). Granted we are a young one-child family, so it isnt hard. Jazz eats what we eat, when we eat. I have dinner ready for all of us early (between 5 and 6) so we can eat together.

Growing up in my family (until my sis and I got jobs and were sometimes not home), it was the same. We all ate at the same time.

I hear of families who regularly feed the kids first then cook for themselves and eat once the kids go to bed, and i sort of get it - they want to eat dinner hot and in peace? But thats not for us, dinner is the only meal we get together (except 2 days a week when Shel isnt at work), so its special (its not always at the table, but it is always together).

At the moment DF and i normally eat in front of the tv, or i do and he eats in his office while doing work (his business is 24/7). Once DD starts eating dinner too then i hope to convince him to eat as a family at the kitchen table. i think it's a good habit to get into. my parents always eat at the table, it wasnt always as a family though as dad (being a farmer) was often out late anyway. we ocassionally got to eat in front of the tv on a saturday or sunday night as a treat, but we had a 'family' show that we all watched together.

We all eat together as a family, but depending on whether DH is on shift or not it may just be the kids and I though sometimes I will have a late dinner so we can all eat together when he's on dayshift (he gets home at 7.30) We have the telly off and the table is set- nothing flash, just cutlery and sauce etc. We never used to eat together as a family when I was younger though - there were too many of us to all get round a table LOL. DH's family used to eat at the table, but as they got older they got a bit slacker with it.

Well maybe they didn't interview any BB members eh!?

Do you have any rituals? We say: EEDA DUCKIMUS - it is Japanese (obviously I have spelt it as it ispronounced) for "bless this food" or "thankyoufor this food"...

We also each say one thing we are grateful for in that day... I find it a great way of getting the kids to talk about the wonderful things in life rather than... Finn kicked me... ! :lol:

Not really any rituals here, except Shel and Jazz have playtime while I cook dinner. They go into the playroom and go crazy, lol, while I get dinner on. Then she does drinks, cutlery and sauces, and gets Jazz ready for dinner, while I serve.

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Okay well that's two of us! Did you eat as a family growing up? I know we did. So, I guess it's a positive I have got from my family of origin!

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Yep we did eat as a family growing up. We had our own seat at the table too. It wasn't just sit in any seat (with four of us kids, there'd be fights if someone was sitting in anothers seat lol).

As for rituals, we did say grace when we ate at my grandmothers, but not at home. Today, we don't really have any. DH thanks me and gives me a kiss for cooking dinner every night :)

We don't do anything spesh, we just talk about our day, what the kids did at school, what DH did at work if he's on shift or talk about what his plans are for the following day if he's at home.

We ALWAYS eat dinner together!

The older 2 eat breakfast at day care 3 days a week and the 2 days they are home with me we eat breakfast and lunch together! Lunch is me by myself 3 days! On weekends we always eate breakfast lunch and dinner together!

I'm trying to get the boys into a routine but it is just to much trying to get dinner ready at 6pm weekdays when I pick them up at 5-530pm. I really don't want to do 2 lots of dinner dishes!

:lol: my kids have their own seats too - with 5 of them anything to minimise the need for negotiation!!!

we did too growing up - loved but no wDH gets home at about 8 so too late for kids- but on teh weekedn definalty.

We always eat our meals together at the table with the TV off. DH may not be at all meals though. DD1 is learning how to set the table and return her finished dinner plate to the kitchen. We ignore any phone calls because we believe that this time is our wind down and chat time.

My SIL and Stepbrother's family only have a roast on Sundays together because BIL gets home late and their kids eat super early. I actually feel really sad that they don't get much time together.

My family didn't eat together and as a family we ended up quite disfunctional. As a child I loved going to some of my friends' houses just because they had big families and they all ate together!!! I decided as a young person that my family would be like that some day

We always eat dinner together too at the table. Sometimes for a treat we eat pizza in front of a movie but it's still together. Both DH and I grew up eating dinner at the table with the family. We don't have any traditions though. It's so good to read other families still have some old fashioned traditions.

We do when we can (me and DP that is, DD isn't a solids girl just yet) but since my partner works shift and 4 weeks out of 6 he isn't here for dinner, there is many times that I eat alone.

If DH is home from work, we eat every meal together. it's getting harder to do now seeing DD knows it's meal time and wants a feed at the same time (mummy trying to eat properly around a feeding bubba isn't easy) - on the upside, when she does start solids, she will eat with us. we don't have a set meal time due to DH's work - but will try to structure it a bit more once DD is on solids and eating with us

yep, 90% of the time we do, unless it's soccer night or something. I feel it's an important time to be together as it's probably the only time of the day to be all together doing the one thing.
when both dh's kids came over we'd always make a point then of sitting together too, even when ss18(he was 16 at that time)didn't want to eat we still asked him to join us as a family. He did, and he usually gave in and ate then too.

Flowerchild - I loved being able to share a family dinner with you :) I loved Miss Immy sharing her yoghurt with me (spoon for her, spoon for me & if I didn't take it it would be shoved up my nose :rofl:)

Growing up (until my father died), dinner was a BIG ritual, when dad got home from work, he'd sit down and all of us would have a ****tail (mine was a softdrink in a ****tail glass), then we'd sit down to dinner, then desert. Then my nightly ritual would be to sit in dad's lap while he had a port, when I'd tell him about my day (even though I used to ring him during the day), this was while mum cleared the table.

I plan to do that to my own family, I used to "attempt" to have a family dinner with my xh, but he had an attention span of a sneeze and rarely would we be able to sit down like adults and talk - he always wanted to watch tv.

We don't eat together. The kids sit at the table and DH and I sit in the lounge. We're all in the same room though.

Growing up my family always ate at the table together, I don't know why I don't do it. Perhaps laziness.

Am I bad?

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Am I bad?

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Oh terrible :p - no every family is different and if that's what you are comfortable with then go for it.

DH and I have always eaten dinner together at the table even before we had kids. I figure we go to enough effort to prepare it, we should enjoy it together.

DH and I usually make dinner together and the kids hang around the kitchen either playing or DS in his high chair if he is just a bit over it. We cut up raw veggies for them to snack on while we cook (carrott sticks, beans etc). DD has started pushing a chair up to the bench in the kitchen and helps cook dinner.

From when our kids started eating solids (around 6 months), they have sat at the table with us at meal times. They usually have a little bit of what we are having purreed until they become interested in what we eat and then we just give them what we are eating cut into small pieces. My kids have both wanted to feed themselves from a very early age so it has worked well for us.

We always say grace at the beginning of our meal and if we ever forget, DD is quick to remind us. We expect our kids to sit at the table with us until we have finished eating from when they are babies (within reason). DD knows that she has to ask to leave the table before she gets up which we usually don't let her do until DH and I have finished eating (unless it is taking a long time because we have had to stop eating to look after DS who gets very tired around dinner time and sometimes doesn't make it all the way through dinner).

I usually clean up from dinner while DH baths the kids and puts them to bed.

TG that's one of my points - I've gone to all this effort - lets enjoy it! I personally can't stand the tv on while eating. It's a bug bear of mine.

AP: Yes, Immy makes quite a mess of her yoghurt!

We all eat at the table together - with the tv off. We start the meal with a prayer - and the kids take turns at saying it. We generally talk about what's happened through the day. Growing up we sat at the table as well - I don't ever remember eating in front of the telly as a kid.

I used to but Mt washington has kind of taken over my table so now we're just as likely to eat in lounge room :redface:

What's mt Washington???

We always eat dinner at the table together, it's important to all of us. DH and I used to have the odd night when we'd enjoy eating on the couch, but now that DS is here and eating with us, that never happens (he would be too messy for one :lol:). But we really enjoy our family meals, with music playing, and DS is really getting into the swing of things. He LOVES 'diwwertime' and can't wait to go and sit at the table and put a placemat at each of our places!!! It's very cute.

As a young child, I didn't have that family time, my dad liked us kids to be fed and in bed when he and mum sat down for their dinner and wine :rolleyes:. But as a teenagers, once my parents were divorced, mum had us sit together.

We eat most of our dinners together at the kitchen table. Sometimes we eat together in front of the TV, normally when it is something informal like nachos or pizza. There are the odd times though where it is a matter of just getting the kids fed, bathed and in bed, then we worry about ourselves later.

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I used to but Mt washington has kind of taken over my table so now we're just as likely to eat in lounge room :redface:

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Sadly it's the same at our house. I used to set the table and eat at it, til it was taken over. 2 kids and a job does nothing for my house keeping...I must try to get on top of it, wither that or find another place to stash my overflowing clothes baskets. Though in saying that we do eat together on the lounge room floor!! :rofl:

LOL Deb Mt Washington is the washing pile.....

We eat together 5-6 nights a week, on the two nights I work past the kids dinner time, DH eats with the girls. I will come home and they will sit down with me while I eat. Its an important time of connecting together for our family, and yep most night the TV is off, but on Friday night, pizza and DVD night we watch a movie together.

We eat dinner apart maybe once a fortnight. Maybe DH is working (or fishing) or maybe DH and I want a "date dinner" so eat when DS is in bed (once every 2-3 months). But apart maybe once a fortnight.

We have a point of talking about our days and asking each other what went on. DS is now able to join in and share one aspect of his day too, maybe two. However, we have had TV on for dinner these last few nights so DS hasn't spoken - that will be going off again! We enjoy our little dinner chats.

DH and I both grew up eating dinner with our family. But DH always wasn't allowed to talk because his dad was watching the news and I was shouted down in my conversation by my sister so we're being careful to allow everyone their time to talk without any TV. (When DH remembers to turn off TV while I bring dinner to table - I know, my fault too, but it's technically his job.)

We also sit down to dinner at the table every night, we are not so great about setting the table, but we all sit together and eat and chat about what our day was like. DD has just learned to start asking "what did you do today mummy/ daddy?" which is totally cute.

Our question for each other is "What was your favourite part of today?"

after posting in this thread we got a call that DH had to leave for work during the day yesterday instead of this morning. so it was all systems go to get him ready and off to work - but we still ate "dinner" together at lunch time! neither one of us was prepared to lose that so we got it all organised. even DD sat and chatted away to us while we ate.

I've been meaning to get to this thread for aaaages and reply. I've LOVED hearing about everyone's dinner times. :D

Yes we are a compulsive TV-off-eat-dinner-at-the-table type family too.

Our evening routine starts at around 5pm when we all get home from work and daycare. Usually either DH or I will go out and exercise (DH will run 7-8km, but I've only just got into it and I'm a lot slower so I only run 3-4km). The parent left at home cooks dinner and sets the table. The TV is off, DS usually just plays around the house or with the little girl next door (either at our house or her house). DD sits in her high chair and feeds herself finger food.

At 6-6:30pm all four of us sit at the table and eat our dinner. DH and I use our cutlery, eat our veges, remark about how lovely the meal is and how lucky we are and just generally chit-chat about the day.

Then it's straight into the bath with both of them.

DS and DH love to watch Scrappy Racers / Scrap Heap Challenge on ABC2 after the bath. Then we do puzzles and read books. DD goes to bed at about 7:30pm, then it's teeth and bed for DS at about 8pm.

Bliss! :D