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

[LuvOrlando]

Yes, every single night. Even if we have activities that run late into the evening we will all gather around the table for a late night sandwich of PB&J but we will absolutely share an evening meal as a family... even if it's 8:30 and one of us has already eaten everyone will sit for at least 15 minutes. For example, we usually eat at 5:30 but DH and DS are out together while DH is working on a friends new MAC. My chicken is marinating and Dh will call me on his way home so I can have dinner ready when they get in whenever that may be. DD and I had a light snack until then. It works for us, having that sense of connection every day is extremely important to me and it's so easy to lose.

 

[Melmac]

We did when I was a kid. There was no eating in front of the TV and I rarely ate at my friends houses. It was important to my mom because it was guaranteed family time every day. My DH and I try to eat together but we are so busy that it usually doesn't end up that way (unless we are out together and grab something to eat). If we were to have kids, I would try and make dinner family time.

 

[AndreaDM]

At least 5 nights a week. It seems like at least one night a week one of us has an evening work event, so the other parent and whatever kids happen to be around eat leftovers or grab a pizza. My oldest daughter moved out, but the best times are when she comes over and the 5 of us eat together at our patio table, just taking out time, laughing and talking.

 

[worm761]

We do most nights but sometimes we will have pizza and sodas in the living room with a movie. It is a treat and doesn't happen often. We didn't always though. When I was working I didn't get home until really late.

 

[savannahcat]

Unless we are eating out, we eat at our kitchen table every night. I actually moved our tv so that it's not visible from the kitchen table - no temptation that way.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Nope, and I've tried (really - I even posted a thread about it a few months ago) but it just doesn't work for us. Some nights we don't even eat at the same time, let alone the same table.

But I've come to the realization that as long as we're communicating, it doesn't have to revolve around food. (DS's best "talking windows" are actually the car and the pool.) And I kind of resent the commercials that imply my kid is going to end up on drugs if we don't eat together every night.

He does get the experience of big meals around the table at family gatherings, and we do eat out every so often, so he's forced to practice table manners. But for now, I've decided not to make everyone miserable by pushing something that just our style.

I think it's OK for family time to be different than meal time.

 

[SCHBR'smom]

My family eats together at the table every night. I couldn't imagine eating any other way.

However, I grew up eating in front of the tv. We only used the table for holidays. It seems like a lifetime ago.

 

[AshleyW]

When I was growing up, we always did. My parents & DF's parents still eat at the table.

At our house, we eat at the table if I cook. If we have something simple, like sandwiches or take out, we eat in the living room and watch TV. It's not really a big deal to me one way or the other. If we eat at the table, we don't have much of a conversation anyway. DF inhales his food so fast that he can't talk. I hate the awkward silence, so I talk the whole time we're at the table - I wind up eating super slow or actually forgetting to eat, and then wind up sitting there eating by myself once DF is done eating.

 

[MIGrandma]

Yes, we do....on Christmas day!

We did almost always have dinner (and breakfast and lunch on weekends) at the table with the whole family while the kids were at home. But once the kids were out on their own we stopped doing that and usually just sit in "our spots" in the family room and eat there while watching the news or something on TV.

Now it's different when we go camping. We almost always sit together at the table, or at least together in our chairs by the campfire.

 

[DMickey28]

We want to and we try to eat dinner at the dinning room table together. We can't seem to pull it together though. We do eat as a family in the living room though. It's a habit and one we need to break now that DS is older.

I grew up with everyone eating dinner together at the table and want that with my family too.

 

[cristit14]

Almost every night. Unless of course we aren't all here at the same time, but right now that doesn't happen too often.

 

[JVL1018]

Pretty much every night, except maybe in the spring when the kids have softball and baseball, but then we'll eat on the run(aka McD's in the car) together on those nights when I don't have it together enough to get dinner before running out to a game.

 

[MichelleVW]

Pretty much never in our house. But we are a close family that spends other time together.

 

[HSMndLKfan92]

We try to have dinner together every night.

 

[brenalexacamp]

we eat together but it can be at the table- outside-or in the living room

 

[dislaney]

We try to have dinner together every night and breakfast on the weekends too! We both grew up eating meals as a family and have tried to continue the tradition.

 

[Hillbeans]

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.

Us too...I may not cook every night, but we eat together as often as possible.

 

[busyshrew]

We eat dinner together every night - I cook 5 or 6 nights a week, and there's usually one dinner out (together) or takeout (eaten at the table, together). I have refused to schedule anything into DD's evenings - she does nothing outside the home after 5:30pm.

We eat together as a family a LOT. I often put DD in the car, go pick up DH at lunch time and we'll run over to a quick, cheap ethnic place (Egyptian, Vietnamese, AYCE sushi, Chinese) and grab a fast 45-minute lunch together. Or DH will come home for lunch and eat with us. We're exceptionally lucky, we live a 5-minute drive from his work.

DH and DD eat breakfast together every morning. (I usually sleep in or sip tea and read the newspaper in bed!)

Both DH and I grew up in households where the family ate together EVERY SUPPER. And our moms did NOT go to restos (but back then, eating out really was an occasion, ha ha). I came home every school day and ate a hot lunch with my dad (he worked from a home office).

And like some of the PPs - we made sure to buy a house where you can't see the TV from the kitchen. (We have a little CD player to have music during our meals but that's it).

 

[J3nn78]

Always. Not eating together at the table is just NOT an option.

 

[luvmylittleboy2003]

Wow...its really nice to see how many families eat together. Told DH last night that we should really try to incorporate this into our schedules. We normally eat together in the living room, but, would love to actually sit at the kitchen table (like I did as a child).