Do you always eat at the dining table?

[SylvesterTheCat]

DP and I eat breakfast (not always together) and lunch at the table but have dinner in front of the telly on trays
But now that we have a DC about to start on solids I think I'd like to start having "dinner as a family" at The Table. Thoughts?

99% of the time we're at the dinner table. If we get a take away pizza we may eat on the sofa or if it's a late night take away for just dp and I then we eat on the sofa. I don't really like doing it though. It's not a good habit and it encourages mindless eating if the TV is on and it's bad for digestion.

Always. Otherwise we battle against dog noses trying to get stuck into the food

Sometimes! If we are having something like a roast dinner or something to share from a big pot that I cba to dish out properly (like chili, tacos, paella, stir fry etc) we will sit at the table for handiness, otherwise it's just on the sofa - we don't even have trays we use pillows . Toddler just sits in her high chair for either occasion

As toddler and newborn get older I will make sure everything is eaten at table, but currently hate my kitchen and want to move so this is another reason why it's not for every meal!

We have breakfast, lunch and dinner together at the table (when not at school/work for lunch) except for one meal a week when it's pizza and movie night! That's family time too (pizza and movie night)

We always try to eat together as a family in the breakfast room for breakfast.

Dinner is eaten at the table inside in the winter, outside in the summer. Once a week we eat on our laps in front of the tv for a treat.

Similar to a lot of the above posters we mainly eat at the dining table but once a week we have takeout which we eat in the lounge in front of tv/movie.

Always eat at a table. Maybe not together all the time but I like my 18month old to see us eating at the table. I actually really dislike to eat off a tray on the sofa!

If it's a takeaway then yes in front of the TV on laps but that's not too often

Yep it’s a big table in the kitchen rather than in a separate room though

Always at the table in this house

We try to eat everyday at the table but sometimes we have dinner in front of the Tv. I find that we chat specially at dinner and we enjoy that. We have a 13 year old we encourage chat as much as possible we don't know how long it's going to last. 

It's the default to eat at the dining table. DC need to learn how to be sociable over a meal, and eat properly so they're not afraid or nervous of a posh dinner.
Eating in front of the TV is a treat.

We have always eaten dinner at the table.
DC are grown up now but as soon as they were sitting up they sat at a table for all meals.
As they got older I just stuck to dinner at the table and people can have breakfast and lunch wherever they like.
They learn that dinner time is time to chat about the day. No tv or phones allowed, ever. This means that they cope well when eating out at restaurants and with family as they are used to sitting at a table. Be realistic about letting them get down from the table when they have eaten.

When we eat with DC we always sit at the table, but when DH and I eat after they have gone to bed (usually on days when they have been fed at nursery/ after school club) we sit on the settee in front of the tv. I usually eat breakfast and sometimes lunch standing up at the kitchen counter in between doing other things like emptying the dishwasher/ washing machine and sorting school bags and cleaning up, which isn't really setting a good example.

The majority of the time, yes.

Exceptions are:
Take away: 3/4 nights a year, always in the den.
Movie nights: (projector comes out!) - maybe one every other month.
Crappy Tea Night: Probably every 6 weeks or so.
Christmas: when breakfast is bacon rolls eaten on the floor/sofa as you open pressies
Birthdays: Breakfast in bed!
BBQ: 10-12 times a year, eat in the garden on camp chairs/grass

We will eat outside (in good weather) but there is table for that! :)

Always at the table, except Friday nights, which involve fish fingers and chips in front of a screen for the dc. Weekend breakfasts are 'table but reading is allowed'. (Weekday breakfasts too, but we rarely all sit down for breakfast together on weekdays).

The only time we sit together at the table to eat is Sunday breakfast. I eat all my meals on my lap as does DH and DC eat at the table on their own. DC eat boring chips based meals mostly, so I cook separately and eat later.

Pre DS we rarely ate at the table. Now we do 99.9% of the time. Only toast, cereals or nibbly foods are eaten away from the table.

Dining table here. My kids are way too messy for eating while sat on the sofa, and I am not a clean freak. Mine are so conditioned that when I announced we would have pizza in the living room while watching Strictly it was THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER!

Grown ups will occasionally eat in the living room, but now we have an open kitchen/diner we use the table more as it's just easier. And then we can shut the door and leave the mess while we collapse on the sofa.

Never in front of the TV but in the dining room or the kitchen table if it’s a snack or quick meal. Hate the idea of food in the lounge.

Almost always on weekdays, or rather always for the kids sometimes not for me and DH. Our weekends are more relaxed for breakfast and lunch but dinner is usually still at the table.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner always at the table. Easier to clear up, more civilised, and promotes family conversation!

Breakfast is eaten in bed. Lunch is eaten on sofa (me and DD) or table (DH). Tea (I'm northern) is eaten at table now. It always used to be on knees but now we have a large dining/family room so we use the table 99% of the time for tea as DH much prefers it for comfort reasons. Me and DD will sometimes eat on our knees if DH is away or working late and we did eat on our knees on Sunday night as I had messed up the timings and ended up serving the meal at the same time as Dr Who!

Breakfast is always at the table unless it’s toast in bed (rare treat). Lunch is sometimes at the table but more often at the coffee table. Dinner is nearly always at the dining table unless it’s pizza night in front of a film or Dr Who.

We love sitting round the table discussing our day and DD has been known to join us from uni via FaceTime!