Does your family eat dinner together?

[transparant]

Yes we do. No TV is allowed on during dinner either. Dinner time is actually my favorite time of the day. Now if I can only find someone else to cook the dinner!

 

[dizagain]

Yes, we do on most evenings - probably 5 or 6 out of 7. The girls have a late activity on one evening so we just fix something like sandwiches on our own. The others, we try to sit down together, no tv, and spend time together.

This will probably go out the window for the next month or so as one DD is in a play and rehearsing alot of evenings. That throws us off and since that leaves the picky eater DD at home we might just eat "whatever" on those nights!

 

[Bob Slydell]

We rarely eat together. This time of the year, DW's usually working late, so it's me and the boys. I try to time dinner so that DS1 and I are eating together while I'm feeding DS2 his baby food, but that doesn't always happen, so often we all end up eating at different times.

 

[coliebird]

Yes, we do. Both my husband and I grew up this way. We value this family time. Ocassionally we will get take-out and eat in the living room and watch a movie, but it's considered a special treat for our daughter.

I don't know how things will be as she gets older, if she gets involved in activities, but we'll do our best to keep it the way it is.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

With very few exceptions, DH and I sit at the table and eat dinner together. And when we are both home for breakfast or lunch, we will eat together then, too.

 

[MickeysMommy]

Yes. I think it's important to make the time to do this.

 

[liamandcaili]

We always do...no tv, music in background, kids clear their plates when they are done (most of the time).

On Sundays, we go to my parents' house and have a big family meal with mom, dad, sis, brother-in-law, and brother. My children are not required to sit at the table for this one though, as we usually eat in the early afternoon and they are used to eating later.

 

[sweet angel]

Yes, we try to eat together...always in the kitchen. Only time we don't eat together is if DBF works late -- but then it's me and DS.

 

[aprincessmom]

Yes...we eat breakfast together each day, lunch on the weekends, and dinner every day she is at home. And sometimes we use all the fancy stuff including candlesticks just because . I have done this since DD could sit on her own. DD and I would miss it if we didn't do it...it's our place to chat, discuss the day, talk about all sorts of things.

When she is at her dad's, they eat in front of the tv and no one eats together (her dad has a new family with other older children) -- they don't have a dining room or even a kitchen table. She doesn't like it because she said no one talks to each other and she hates sitting on the floor at a coffee table to eat.

 

[monarchsfan16]

When I was really little, more often than not it was just my mom, sister and I eating together. After my parents split up, mom continued that. Her family always ate together, and that was important to her. Now, sometimes those meals were all of us sitting in the car eating fast food, on the way to or from some activity, but we ate together. Most of the time it was around the dining room table though. It was really important to mom. Dinner was when she found out everything.
Now mom is remarried. Most nights whoever is spending the night at the house eats together. However, a lot of nights talking just doesn't happen. It becomes obvious early on whether stepdad wants to hear any "useless chatter" or not. Lately, dinner has been a 10 minute thing, where all we hear is the scraping of utensils on plates. Then he goes and watches tv while the rest of us clear the table
Dinners with dad go on forever, unless he gets a phone call in the middle of dinner. But generally we just talk about our grades, or politics

 

[MICKEY88]

we eat together as often as possible, I insist on it, it's great family time, a great time to talk and know what your kids are up to..etc....

the day after New Years my son's(16) girlfriend joined us for dinner.after the meal, my wife, daughter and son went to the kitchen to grab our desserts that were left over from our New YEars Eve PArty, my son's girlfriend looked at me and said "I'm jealous, my family never eats together, I really wish we would"


that really touched me

 

[Mickeyhugger]

When she is at her dad's, they eat in front of the tv and no one eats together (her dad has a new family with other older children) -- they don't have a dining room or even a kitchen table. She doesn't like it because she said no one talks to each other and she hates sitting on the floor at a coffee table to eat.

How sad for her. Good for you, though, that you 'do it all up' for her. She's obviously learning the better way, and will most likely make mealtime special for her family one day.

I do the best I can for DH, DD and I. With after-school activities twice per week, it's a challenge, but we do eat together most nights. The exceptions being if DH is caught in traffic on his one-hour commute home, he'll sometimes call to tell us to 'start without him.' I'll let DD do it if she's STARVING (an extra half-hour to an 11 year-old is an eternity), but I wait for him.

The first memories that EVER come to mind about growing up, are the family dinner table. Yes, there were sometimes squabbling and arguements (with four kids, there would be, LOL!) but we were connected as a 'family' every night. We're all grown now, and we laugh at some of the memories. Oldest sister sometimes coming late to dinner, and DF reading her the riot act..I remember too, how I could guess what my mother was preparing..'umm, fried chicken tonight.'

 

[Bob Slydell]

How sad for her. Good for you, though, that you 'do it all up' for her. She's obviously learning the better way, and will most likely make mealtime special for her family one day.

There's no "better" way, just a number of different ways. Everyone does things differently and everyone has preferences.

 

[disykat]

Every night. I can't imagine doing it differently. Now that the kids are getting older, lunch and breakfast are more casual, but dinner is still everyone at the table. The only exception is if someone is sick or not at home. We try to schedule most things around our dinner time.

 

[jbdreamer]

When I lived at home our family always ate dinner togther... in font of the TV. They still do this when my husband and I visit. We grab a plate and a spot on the couch. We still get in plently of family talk... which my husband thinks is crazy, because we talk over the TV.

It is kinda crazy, but it's my family.

 

[Feralpeg]

We normally eat together, but not always at the dining room table. Since it is just the two of us, we eat out often.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We sit down or eat out together 5 times aweek. Friday & Saturday changes all the time.This past Saturday both DD were out their friends/babysitting so we ate as empty-nesters.

 

[LeCras]

Mealtimes were sacred in my family when I grew up - eating on the run was out of the question. My dad always said it was the only time the whole family would get together and talk about what they had going on in school or at work that day or week. It was sort of a time-out and I always thought of it as a welcome break. Funnily enough my friends loved eating at my place, they said there was more of a family feeling than they had at home, eating in front of the tv...

If DH and I manage to extend our family I would continue the tradition of everyone sitting down together. Some of my fondest childhood memories are from family meals!

Charlotte

 

[laura001]

The nights that I make dinner, whoever is at home sits at the table and we eat together. Some nights that I work late we usually have left overs then and everyone usually eats before I get home, my DH saves me some and he sits with me while I eat.

Some nights I may make nacho's or chicken wings, then we may eat them while we watch the hockey game. Otherwise always at the table.

I guess I just figure that if I take the time to make dinner the least everyone can do is take the time to eat together. I usually try to arrange it when everyone will be around. A few other things that drive me crazy are a table that has not been set properly with napkins and all the silverware, someone that leaves the table before everyone is finished, and someone that eats their dessert, before I have sat down to enjoy mine with them, or someone that picks at the food on their plate before we say grace....guess I am a little picky