Does your family eat dinner together?

[Aidensmom]

I am talking about the scene where everyone sits down at the dining room table at a certain time and eats together, and can only get up when excused kind of thing. Just curious how many people still do this.

We used to ALWAYS do this when I was a kid, it was a big deal to my mother. In my family now, DH and DS usually eat before I get home from work, and then I heat mine up in the microwave and eat after my son has gone to bed. On the weekends we eat at the same time, but not necessarily at the table. My son may be at his little table while my husband is eating in front of the TV and I am at the dining room table. It doesn't really bother me that we do this. We do a lot of stuff together as a family, so it's not a big deal to me if we don't eat together.

 

[Nite0wl71]

Sometimes that sounds like us, all eating at the same time but in different places. We eat at least 3-4 times a week at the same table. I work nights 1-2 times a week so those nights are out and other times it is just me and DD12 because DH isn't hungry yet.

 

[rhanditresmom]

We do...almost every night. I am so glad we have the chance to do that. Sometimes we watch TV, sometimes we just sit and laugh! It is a great time to be together and share the day.

 

[slo]

We sit at the table together every night for dinner - I can't imagine having dinner any other way.

 

[cynsaun]

We sit at the table every night, unless it is a movie night. Then, we eat while watching the movie.

 

[Serena]

I grew up like that.

But now, half the time I'm home late and the other half I'm home after Kelsea's gotten herself something. Very rarely do we sit down together and eat a meal.

 

[sleepyone]

We all eat together at the table and no one is allowed to just get up and leave the table without being excused. I love this time together with my family and hearing all about their day.

On pizza night; though, we spread a blanket on the floor, open the boxes, and gather round to watch a movie.

 

[staci]

We always sit down together and eat. DH never did this with his family (they didnt even have a TABLE) so it wasnt a priority for him but it is for me. Its not at a set time; dh just calls when he leaves work, and that give me 45 minutes to get stuff ready cuz he is always starving.

We dont make anyone excuse themselves, ds is only 2 so as long as he eats enough to satisfy us we will often let him down while dh and I continue to talk. Occasionally dh wil bring the paper to the table to read if he left before it was on our step in the am, but I have voiced my opinion about this so he is doing it less and less

We use to eat in front of the tv before having ds but there is just no way i would want to clean our white carpet after letting ds attempt to eat his food in there! The pizza picnic sounds awesome though, we will have to try that in a couple of years.

 

[minkydog]

Some of us eat together almost every night. But when the kids were younger I often fed them before my DH got home and then we would eat together. Now they're older, so one is working and the other has various classes in the evening, so we don't get to eat together as much as before. But if I'm cooking, the table will be set and whoever is home is invited to eat, friends, kids, whoever.

 

[PoohBearLovinMama]

Almost everynight. I really do enjoy sitting down together as a family to eat. I was just telling Dh that I was going to bring up the highchair so that Dd#2 could join us at the table.

 

[Swimnoid]

When I was little my brothers and I ate before my Dad got home from work since he wouldnt get home until around 8. Then he and my mom would eat together. But we ate weekend meals together all the time in a sort of June and Ward Cleaver atmosphere.

While DD was growing up we all ate together as often as possible but some nights DH would work late and some nights I would so that didnt always happen. Whoever was home, though, ate together at the table. Friday night somehow turned into a eat out together as a family. Thats fun too.

 

[vivilasvegas]

Oh, fond memories of all of us eating together when I was a child. My brother teasing me, me arguing back, no talking, my dad sitting at the head of the table bellowing EAT!!!! Good times!

Dinner was tense in my household, I swear, it was the worst time of the day!! Think A Christmas Story!!

 

[mrsv98]

Yes, it is very important to me. DH works a very stressful job and dinner time gives us a chance to be a family. We usually eat at the table, but sometimes we eat at a big ottoman in front of the fire....DD loves this.

 

[dismom9761]

The one or two nights that we are all home at the same time we do.Some nights we eat at several different times according to what activity is going on.Tonight it was everyone but my DH.

 

[Michie]

Not in a very loooong time!

 

[MoniqueU]

My husband often works nights and I am lucky if I can get the kids to all eat the same thing. I am often cooking 3 different simple meals for 3 different kids so they are done at different times. I have always been very lax about not eating at a set time or around the table together. I don't know why it just isn't something thats important to me.

 

[Stacerita]

We sit together almost every night. Sometimes with activities and other stuff going on, we can't. If we are in a hurry, the sweetpea and I will eat at the island, usually at breakfast time. But we do sit together most meals.

 

[Marseeya]

Most nights we eat dinner together.

But I have a confession to make.

I don't own a dining room table! We just have a tiny little table in the kitchen that's used as a catch-all. When I was growing up, my parents always liked to eat on trays in front of the TV, so that's what I got used to. DH and I started doing that early in our marriage and it just became habit for us to eat in the living room. We always had a dining room table, but a couple of years ago I finally got rid of it because we never used it!

I know. We're weird.

 

[GoofieRuthie]

We eat at the table together almost every night. The only time that DH and I don't sit at the table is when we order pizza. Our dining room is connected to the living room and not very big, so we are only a few feet away in our recliners then. I don't force the girls to stay at the table once they are done though. I am usually the first one done eating anyway. Since I had gastric bypass, I eat very little and don't like to stay at the table once I'm done. We all clear our place when we are done and put the food away.

 

[Zandy595]

Every single night.

That's how I grew up. DH never did that when he was growing up though.

He worked evenings (4pm-12am) for a few years, but DS and I always sat at the table and ate dinner together even when DH wasn't home.