Serving Dinner

[FourBees]

So here is a question for all you dis moms or dads out there. Do you run into the problem of getting dinner ready for everyone, serving everyone and then by the time you fix your own plate and sit down to eat you find that everyone is finishing up and you end up eating by yourselves? Doesn't happen all the time but kind of makes me angry when it does!

 

[DawnM]

Well, normally we eat in the kitchen, so I am there anyway with them, but they aren't allowed to eat until it is all ready.....I am not eating in shifts!

 

[Ress76]

Not sure how old your kids are, because, obviously, an 18 month old isn't setting the table , but at our house, everyone is somehow contributing to dinner-setting table, pouring milk, making a side, grilling-so that the pressure of getting dinner ready is spread out among all of us, and we can get more things done at once. We still occasionally have everything ready by the biscuits or something, but most of our meal generally hits the table within 5 minutes of each other.

 

[ceecee]

Well, normally we eat in the kitchen, so I am there anyway with them, but they aren't allowed to eat until it is all ready.....I am not eating in shifts!

We all sit down together and stay until everyone is finished.

 

[pixiewings71]

We don't eat until everything is done and then we eat together. DBF works late at times and in those instances I chose whether to wait or eat with the kids but even if I eat late I still sit with the girls and we chat.
Instead of serving everyone why not serve it up in bowls and let everyone help themselves? Depending on what we are eating I will put the bowls on the counter or the table and we go from there.

 

[pigletto]

The general rule here is you don't eat until everyone is seated, and you don't leave the table until everyone is finished. Like others mentioned, everyone sets the table, puts things on plates, and cleans up together, so it all works out.
I grew up in a family with six kids and my mother once mentioned she hadn't eaten her supper while it was still warm on a Holiday in 15 years.
Since then we made the "Everyone sits when everyone is ready" rule and I carried it over to my house when I had a family.

 

[melafive]

We all eat at the same time too. Only exception was pancakes. For some reason I just let them eat as they were finished. Well my oldest son could eat a ton of them and I would always end up with nothing. It would make me mad so I stopped that and now we all eat pancakes at the same time too.

 

[williamson_ja]

Ditto to what everyone else said. My kids set the table while I am finishing up prepareing the meal. Even my 5 yr old can help put cups and plates on the table. Everyone sits down together. We say a prayer over the food. Then everyone dishes up their own food from bowls/dishes at the table. We all sit and eat together. The kids clean up after the meal as well. Each child has a responsibility. Some help clear the table and put everything away. One does the dinner dishes. Another one wipes all the surfaces clean. This way we all help each other out as a family and no one has to have the entire meal responsibility to themselves. I always eat with the family with nice hot food.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Here too. I cook, kids fix drinks, everyone helps set food on the table, we pray and we eat. Sometimes if we have desert we will all clear the table and then set out dessert, most of the time when we are done everyone carries food to the kitchen and I put stuff away while they load dishwasher. Sometimes if conversataion gets long we let DGS 3 leave table but most of the time we all sit and depart pretty much together.

 

[DisneyDebbie]

I'm going to chime in and say it has happened to me. I put everything on the table step away to get something, and by then both DS's are done eating I don't make them stay though, they can go and I have a peaceful meal w/DH Sometimes getting everyone to pitch in and help just leads to more aggravation for me.

 

[disykat]

We all sit down and say grace before anyone eats so we eat together. When they were really little I would dish their plates before we all sat down so I wasn't delayed and their food could cool.

 

[disneygal2007]

Fix everyone's plates at the same time and then serve all at once. And sit down at the same time.

 

[hambirg]

We all eat at the same time too. Only exception was pancakes. For some reason I just let them eat as they were finished. Well my oldest son could eat a ton of them and I would always end up with nothing. It would make me mad so I stopped that and now we all eat pancakes at the same time too.

That's so funny, because I was thinking the same thing! We all sit down and wait til everyone is there, pray and then eat. . .EXCEPT for when I make pancakes. I don't have a big griddle so I have to make them in small batches. I always tell the kids to sit down and start eating before they get cold. They always leave enough for me though. . .I'm not a big pancake fan anyway. . .if they ate them all, I'd probably just make toast or something.

 

[disykat]

I also make an exception for pancakes and french toast. While I have a pretty good sized griddle, I prefer for them to start eating while I'm still at the stove cooking the last batch or two.

 

[Marionnette]

So here is a question for all you dis moms or dads out there. Do you run into the problem of getting dinner ready for everyone, serving everyone and then by the time you fix your own plate and sit down to eat you find that everyone is finishing up and you end up eating by yourselves? Doesn't happen all the time but kind of makes me angry when it does!

I dont "fix plates". Everything goes on the table in serving bowls and on platters. We pass the food just like the Waltons. Maybe were old fashion. But even when the kids were small we didnt sit down until everything was on the table and we said grace.

 

[fakereadhed]

It happens every once in a while. But what annoys me more is calling everyone for dinner and having them take their time getting to the table, trickling in 10-15 min later.

 

[moongirl]

My kids often are seated before my husband and I but they are not allowed to put a bite into their mouths until we are all sitting and ready to eat. They are also required to tell whomever made the meal "thanks for cooking dinner". This is our way of teaching them to respect the work that has gone into preparing the dinner AND every member of the family is equally important - it's not fair to mom if they get to eat before she does. They also must asked to be excused from the table if they finish sooner than others.

 

[prncess674]

You are a mom, not a waitress! You can either serve from the stove and have the kids assist in shuffling plates to the table or you can serve family style by placing things in bowls on the table. We do it both ways. Sometimes we line the plates up on the counter and serve up the contents, then each person grabs their plate and heads to the table. While I am cooking someone else is setting the table with placemats, napkins, silverware, cups with drinks and ice and any condiments needed. During dinner everyone states at least one "rose" and one "thorn" which makes it easy for little ones to talk about their day.

 

[FourBees]

Thanks for all the replies. I will definately have to work on how I do things. I usually serve from the kitchen as the kitchen dining area flows from one to the other and so I have always just made plates up in the kitchen and had them take them to the table but for some reason I don't get there quick enough. I guess I will have to enforce the rule that no one eats until Mom is at the table too! I will say too after thinking about it, it seems like it is with smaller meals such as soup and sandwich, tacos, pancakes and such. Well it is something for me to work on. Thanks everyone!

 

[amylynne01]

I make plates for my girls, cut up all their stuff, let it cool, and put their plates on the table. Then I bring over all the food for DH and I. THEN we all sit down together and eat. My older DD sets the table with plates and forks while I finish coking. There's no eating in shifts here.