When you were are child and finished your (main - lunch/dinner) meal...

[coliebird]

Originally posted by piratesmate
Did anyone here grow up with a TV in the dining room? I was shocked when I met DH - the TV was on during breakfast, lunch & dinner...every day. Ours was never on - we actually talked to each other.

No TV in the kitchen at all. Dinner was family time, and is in my home now too.

As for being excused, no, we didn't have to ask, but we all usually sat until everyone was done anyway and talked. We did have to help with the dishes. I had lots of stomachaches growing up and always seemed to have to use the bathroom when it was time to clean up

 

[tc]

Before my parents divorced, my father made us ask to be excuse. I had bad allergies and sneezed a lot. I had to ask to be excused to go sneeze. If a sneeze snuck up on me, and I didn't have time to ask to be excused, I was asked to leave the table and not allowed to finish my meal (my mom usually snuck me food later that night). We'd get in trouble for elbows in the table, talking with food in your mouth, filling your mouth too full. You left had was always on your lap if you were not cutting something. You always held you fork/spoon in your right hand (hard for my oldest sister, since she was left handed). Needless to say, my father was a tyrant. Dinner was a very stressful time.

My kids never had to ask to be excused, but nine times out of ten, we all stayed at the table talking and left at the same time. The rule at our house is, if you make it you don't have to clean it. So, if Stephen and I made dinner, the girls cleaned. If they cooked, we cleaned. Sometimes, we all cooked and we all cleaned. Meal time when my kids were growing up was a great time. And, we never had the tv on. It was a time to connect and talk about our day. I cherish those memories.

 

[SetzKitten]

We asked to be excused if we left the table temporarily during the meal, but we were required to stay at the table until everyone finished dinner, then my sister and I cleared the table and did all the dishes, except for the pans, my father did those.

 

[DMickey28]

"May I please be excused?"

I still do that when I am my parents! And take your dish to the sink.

DFiance did not and he didn't have to clear the table either. Granted most nights he was on his own but I had such a hard time when we lived back around home and we would never help clear the table after dinner with his mother. She would not allow me to....

It shall be interesting how we teach our children. I have DFiance "trained" pretty well though. He may bring his plate to the sink when he is done but he will come back to the table and wait until I am done. I think it's rude to leave the table, when it's just two, while the other is still eating... it's family time, a time to share and reflect on your day!!!

 

[KrnB]

My stepson must ask to be excused to leave the table early. We make him come back if he forgets.

I don't recall having the option to be excused. I usually just had to wait for everyone else to be done... in the rare occurances that I wasn't the last one finished.

I'm another one who had to sit until I finished my __(insert food here)__. The rule was if I served myself, I had to eat what I put on my plate. If someone else put the food there and I really couldn't finish, it was OK. But I couldn't just leave my veggies to the end to try to escape them. (My stepson tries that one all the time)

And yep, I had to help clear the table and/or do the dishes.

 

[onecoolmama]

It never mattered, I was always the last one there. My aunt still laughs that it took me an hour and a half to sit and finish a happy meal. After that, we always took it to go.

When I was 7 or 8, I wised up and realized with everyone gone, I could just scrape my plate into the garbage, then go play. That saved me at least an hour everyday of sitting by myself

 

[dizagain]

Yep...Had to be excused. Also had to thank the cook for the delicious dinner even when it wasn't so delicious! I was a picky eater and I had to only eat a bite of everything. I still managed to sit there forever...gave me lots of time to come up with new tricks to dispose of the stuff!

We don't make DD"s ask to be excused, but if it's a dinner with extended family, they just sort of magically do it. No tv at dinner so it's not an issue. Only on Pizza Nights do we let the girls sit in the Family Room to eat and watch a movie. They take their dishes to the sink and really should be loading the dishwasher at their ages but we don't make them yet. Hmm...the idea is taking hold...I'll tell 'em to blame you guys!

 

[C.Ann]

Didn't have to ask to be excused, but did have to remain at the table until I finished eating everything that was put on my plate.. (I still have visions of the liver my Mom used to cook.. Always overcooked it until it curled up like shoe leather and I absolutely despised it. Many, many years later my present DH cooked it for me the CORRECT way and now I LOVE it - LOL..)

And us kids always cleared the table and did the dishes - no getting out of that for any circumstances other than "sudden death"..

 

[pandamom]

Yup, "May I be excused please?" was required to leave (and not always granted). Had to help cleanlup when meal was over also.