Do you eat dinner/supper together at the table....

[MrsPete]

Of course! Where else would we eat? Why wouldn't a family sit down together?

 

[SpecialK]

Every night, TV off, music on.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

We do when we can. The only time that doesn't happen is when I have school at night (Tues & Thurs) or if I have to work all day, on Sundays.

 

[mumom95]

We eat together at the table on most nights. There are exceptions when we have other activities going on. I grew up that way and it works for my family.

Same here.

 

[MichelleVW]

Of course! Where else would we eat? Why wouldn't a family sit down together?

Many reasons...

We aren't all home at the same time.

The table is too full of stuff to sit down at.

We would rather eat on the couch with tv trays and watch tv together.

Like I said, we are a very close family that loves to do things together, but eating together just isn't a big deal to us.

 

[princessmom29]

We do, except on our late dance night. We don't get home until after 8. DD and I eat at my grandma's before class and DH is on his own.

 

[shortbun]

We eat together almost every night. I can't think of the last time we didn't. We don't always eat 'at the table.' Sometimes we eat on the porch, sometimes we eat at the park just down the street. Sometimes we eat in the den with the TV on. We talk a lot as a family, dinner time is not our only chance.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

Most every night we eat all together at the table except when DH has to work late. Then DD's and I will eat at the table and they watch Disney Channel.

 

[mhsjax]

I would love to every night, and my kids love it. Unfortunately we can only do it about 3 to 4 nights out of the week, due to different activities in different directions. I do cook almost every night, we just eat in shifts.

We do spend a lot of time together though so dinner isn't when we do that much talking. That seems to happen throughout the day.

 

[MELSMICE]

Of course! Where else would we eat? Why wouldn't a family sit down together?

I think there can be many reasons.

For us it doesn't happen every night, especially during the school/dance year. I teach two evenings a week & am at my studio from 3:30 until past 9 p.m. There is no formal dinner at our house on those nights. Two of my DD's are at the studio with me. There are also many evenings where I have to be there for other reasons, so there is no family dinner on those nights.

In the summer DH is in a golf league on Wednesday nights. He leaves around 4 p.m. so dinner is hit or miss on those nights. Some times I'll make grilled cheese or mac & cheese & DD's & I sit to eat, other times, we'll sit in the family room & watch some show that we enjoy but DH doesn't.

Now that my DD's are older on some evenings they are out with friends. One of them works & sometimes has an evening shift so can't join us for dinner.

I do think it's important that a family sit down & have meals together, but it's also unrealistic to think that every family can do it 7 days a week. In my case, even if I limited my kids activities when they were younger so we could all eat dinner together it wouldn't happen because of my career.

 

[disykat]

I do think it's important that a family sit down & have meals together, but it's also unrealistic to think that every family can do it 7 days a week.

I don't think there's anyone here who thinks it should always be 7 days a week, obviously there are times when not everyone is home, someone is sick, etc. However, some of us are curious why some families specifically choose to not eat around a table.

The families I know that don't eat regularly at a table don't have an eating area in/near their kitchen - only a formal dining table in a separate dining room that's often covered with stuff. It takes an "occasion" for them to feel like eating in the dining room. We have a dining nook AND a bar we can all fit at in the kitchen, so we don't have that problem.

 

[SydSim]

Personally, I don't think that's it's the "all eating together for dinner at the table" that you need to have to form a great family bond (just like I don't think that you must breastfeed to bond well with your baby....but that's a whole other thread).

Having dinner together as a family just represents the time taken to be together, and for many families, that is accomplished during a meal.

I have worked shift work since way before I got married and had DD-13. We have great fun eating together, when we do. DD and I have great fun when it's just the two of us...same goes with me and DH. We are an extremely close knit threesome, because we spend time together during so many other things than eating. In the car on the way to band practice, when I have crawled into bed with DD before I head to work, with DH in the morning while he sips his coffee....the list goes on and on.

"Eating dinner together at the table" just simplifies a time when the family connects, and that can happen while doing other things as well....just like a non-breastfeeding baby bonding with it's parents

Old traditions are great, but so are new ones!

 

[pixie dust 112]

We eat together at the table on most nights. There are exceptions when we have other activities going on. I grew up that way and it works for my family.

Ditto!

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm going to say on most night, some of us are at the table. With the kids' schedules, everyone is coming and going from 4:40 - 8:30 or so most nights of the week. We've never eaten in our living room, always the kitchen, dining room for holidays.

 

[pooh4evr]

We try but I see this ending this year- 2 girls with soccer 2 nights a piece and a night of PSR-- better get my crock pot warmed up!

 

[JulielovesDisney]

We almost always sit down together to eat. The only time we don't is if someone has to work or has other plans that they can't eat with us.

 

[Louiepipbgeeco]

When we are all here at suppertime we eat together at the kitchen table. My DH is a firefighter and is sometimes not here and at the hall for meals and sleeping --on those nights the kids and I still eat at the table. DD has many activities sports, dance, musical theatre etc and we try our very best to work around it.

 

[KatieA]

Yes we do!!!

 

[MichelleVW]

.

Old traditions are great, but so are new ones!

Exactly!! My girls and I will eat dinner while watching Criminal Minds together, it's our bonding time!!

 

[LuvOrlando]

Not knocking anyone who chooses to do things differently but if you're interested check out what Time had to say on the subject.

www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html

Seriously, I'm not posting this to make people who can't do this feel bad or say you're wrong, it's just that this article had an impact on me years ago when I first read it so I thought I'd share it as a point of view. Mind you I believe that this is not necessarily the only point of view, but definitely a perspective worth thinking about, no more and no less.