Dinnertime for Small Families

[PollyannaMom]

I hear a lot these days about "family dinners" and making it a special time, but I'm having no luck putting it into practice.

We are a family of 3 even on the best days, but DH sometimes has to work a later schedule, so then we're only 2 at a normal dinner time. It's hardly the big group conversation I think they're talking about.

And to top that off, DS(9) is is a very picky eater, so just the food part is a lot of work.

If you are a small family, what do you you do to make dinnertime inviting?

 

[jaminmd]

We are a family of three as well & DH often works late. What works for us is more of a family "meal" time. Usually we're at the table together for breakfast. Sometimes it is a late lunch on the weekends.

When DD & I are at it alone if DH is late, we use that time to chat. Then when DH comes home & has his dinner, we sit with him while he eats & talk about our day.

 

[worm761]

We are also a small family and do the same as the PP. I think the message that needs to come across is that families who dine together generally have better communication and therefore know what is going on in their kids lives. The key is the communication. DS has Asperger's Syndrome so I completely understand about picky eating. Just make sure that you are making meals that your child enjoys and make sure you are talking at the table. A lot of people sit, eat, and then leave. Dinner should be fun. It should be a production. What kind of foods does your DS like? If you want PM me and maybe we can come up with some things he will eat and ways to get him to eat it. Fun cups if you allow drinks during dinner are always a hit.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I'm feeling a little better, because we DO talk with DS about his day - it just happens other places/times than dinner.

Anyone else have ideas to share?

 

[golfgal]

We have 3 kids so not "small" but not huge either. We play cards at dinner quite a bit. You could play a board game or something. It will also help take the focus off the food since that seems to be an issue already.

 

[clarabelle]

If you feel like you are talking to him at other times -I wouldn't stress too much about dinner.

Candles are nice -for making dinner an occasion, music playing in the back ground.

We do "special plate" sometimes. We have an unusual plate (heart shaped) Everyone at the dinner table has to say something nice about the person with the plate.

That may not work so well with just two people though.

 

[DMickey28]

We are struggling with this too but it's mostly because DS is only 2.5!! We find ourselves sitting in front of the TV watching Wheel of Fortune or Food Network while we eat. We all eat together but we can't seem to migrate into the dinning room.

For us, without the TV as a distraction right now we would just stare at each other. DH works out of the house and we talk all day long ... nothing special to talk about at dinner and since DS is so young, he doesn't have much to say either.

I am hoping as he gets older and the baby grows up we will start having the 'family dinners' I remember growing up and we still have at my parents house.

 

[tmarquez]

We are a family of 3. We rarely eat dinner together. We all talk lots, it just doesn't work out during meal time.

We eat lunch together more often than dinner.

As a kid, my family rarely ate together either. My DH's family always did and he says it was very awkward...they never talked and everyone just sat quietly and ate.

 

[FireDancer]

I'm a family of 1 (in my house at least) and while I am eating dinner I make sure to talk to myself just to foster communication.

 

[Tracy Savage]

I'm a family of 1 (in my house at least) and while I am eating dinner I make sure to talk to myself just to foster communication.

I bet you win all the disagreements too!!!

 

[lovesmurfs]

Okay. I'm guilty, and a baaaadddd mom.

When DH's gone for dinner (he has rehearsals on Mondays and Thursdays, and National Guard weekends), I let the kids watch videos during dinner (we don't have cable).

We talk about days, life, thoughts, etc. at other times (car conversations are particularly relevant....), and we just use the dinner time to relax and unwind. When we're all at the table, though, we turn everything off.

 

[kristilew]

We are a family of 3 here, too, and DH has a crazy work schedule. He travels a lot, and on those weeks, there is definitely no "family dinner." DD12 and I usually read when we eat, when he's not here.

Our talk time is when she goes to bed, instead. I make sure she is in bed early each night, so that there is plenty of time for discussion, tween angst, being silly and then calming back down.

On the weeks when DH is home, we strive for 2 at home family dinner nights a week. I find if I cook much more than that, food gets wasted, as there is always some leftover with only 3 of us. On Thursdays, when DD has 3 afterschool activites, we meet DH somewhere out for dinner, which is nice. One night a week we eat at church, and the rest is everyone for him or herself, cleaning out the fridge, making sandwiches, eating whenever we get hungry or get home.

 

[FireDancer]

I bet you win all the disagreements too!!!

I do until it turns physical and I throw myself down the stairs.