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Original poster

What time do you have dinner?

138 replies

spookehtooth · 24/10/2023 22:30

I've always aimed for around 7:30pm, so mostly that time but it can be later.

I've inherited this time from growing up, and assumed its probably quite normal, but I've never really done any kind of survey like I do for other things, hence this thread.

A follow up question is: What time did you have dinner growing up in your parents house?

OP posts:
mindutopia · 25/10/2023 08:27

On average around 7:30pm, but could on a good day be as early as 7 or as late as 8pm or a bit after. We used to eat a little earlier, maybe more 630 or 7pm, when eldest dd was a baby/toddler, but since then even when youngest (who is now 5) was a baby/toddler, it has been 730 or 8pm. It just works better for us as means we have time to get home from work, spend time with them, cook a proper meal and all eat together every night.

CurlewKate · 25/10/2023 08:28

7.30. Sometimes later. Very rarely earlier.

AlwaysPrettyOnTheInside · 25/10/2023 08:48

I try to eat between 12 and 8, so aim to finish eating at 8.

Growing up, when small, we ate at about 6pm. Then as we got older, ate a bit later, it wasn't a set time.

DutchCowgirl · 25/10/2023 08:57

I have two kids, but on office-days i do not get home before 6pm, dh even later and we often eat near 7 pm.
I thought there were so many working mothers here, how can you all eat that early?

Deadringer · 25/10/2023 09:03

At home it was around 6 or 6.30. I usually aim for 6.30 but its often closer to 7 by the time we eat. We always eat together so when the dc were small it was closer to 6.

ArseInTheCoOpWindow · 25/10/2023 09:07

We have dinner at about 12.30 to 1.

Tea at teatime. About 6. Hate eating late. Too much faffing too late in the evening.

Oganesson118 · 25/10/2023 09:12

When I was growing up, I had cooked dinners at school and my grandparents who used to look after me until my mum collected me at 5 also had their cooked meal at midday so tea was sandwiches or something like that around 4.

Nowadays it’s anytime between 6 and 8 depending what we are having and what we’ve got going on.

Greygardenz · 25/10/2023 10:29

5.00. Now we are retired. Before then the moment we got in from work something went straight in the oven. Can't bear eating late. We have a bowl of cereal at about 9 each evening

theriseandfallofFranklinSaint · 25/10/2023 10:48

We eat between 7-8pm (2 adults and 1 teen left at home) but grew up eating at 6pm after Neighbours! I’ve no idea how my mum had tea ready at the same time every day - I often aim for 7.15 but we end up eating at 7.45…

Eating at 8? 9?! How can you all go so long between lunch and tea?
Well I only eat between 12-8pm so will have:
Lunch @ 12pm
Snack @ 4pm
Tea @ 7.30pm

I agree, there’s no way I could go between 12.30-7.30 without food (even though I can go between 8pm-12pm when fasting!)

ItWasntMyFault · 25/10/2023 10:50

7-7.30 ish - kids are now adults

Tarkan · 25/10/2023 10:54

Between 6.30 and 9pm normally, usually between 7 and 8 most nights. It depends what people are doing, who's working and times of shifts, as well as what we're having. I struggle to eat when I've just woken up so breakfast tends to be late morning for me (and sometimes not at all) and lunch around 2pm (and sometimes not at all if I've had a good breakfast).

Growing up we tended to eat around 7ish because my dad worked long hours and it was often the only time he would see me and my brother each day. When we were at school we would have a bowl of cereal when we got home which kept us going until dinner time.

smilesup · 25/10/2023 10:55

DH has his dinner at midday when I have lunch.
I have mine at 6ish. When he has his tea.

Endless confusion for the kids 😁.

See also sofa/settee, sitting room/lounge, brew/cuppa, ginnel/alley....
We have a North/south and a class difference to contend with. We both agree that the word mither cannot be beaten.

CurlewKate · 25/10/2023 10:57

@smilesup We brought up our children bilingual. But after 30 years DP now mostly speaks English. 🤣

RaraRachael · 25/10/2023 10:58

Always ate at 5pm as a child but we had a smallish cooked tea as we'd had dinner at 12.30.
Nowadays we eat at 6. As I go to bed fairly early, if I eat too late I can't get to sleep.

emmafenella · 25/10/2023 17:07

18:30 now but that’s only since having our little boy and weaning him so as not to have to make separate dinners. We used to eat more around 20:00 when it was just the two of us.

Manthide · 25/10/2023 17:07

Growing up around 5 30 and now between 530 and 6 depending what dd3 has on at school/ after school. I don't like to eat too late as I start work at 0600 so have to get up by 0500.

celticprincess · 25/10/2023 17:10

Between 5-6 depending on what time I get on from work. No later. No work then 5pm on the dot. Kids are like alarms at 6pm!!

SirMcDoddle · 25/10/2023 17:26

About 7.00pm -
It used to be around 5.00~6.00pm when the dcs were little but became later and later when they started to have activities later in the evening.

PIL: Still around 5~6.00 pm
Parents when growing up: around 7.00pm

NancyJoan · 25/10/2023 17:29

7ish. I’m rarely home before 6pm.

When the kids were smaller, they would eat around 5pm, and I would eat later w DH, who got home around 6pm, once we’d done bath and bed.

So very much prefer eating later and all together.

Always ate as a family at around 7pm growing up.

Susuwatariandkodama · 25/10/2023 17:29

6-6:30pm. Weekends it’s 5-6pm. Growing up I always ate dinner with both my parents around 6pm.

Cantstopcoughing · 25/10/2023 17:38

Personally I like it between 5.30-6pm so evening is free of housework.
it occasionally winds round to half six or seven if I’ve been busy in the afternoon but I try and have easy meals those days to lessen the impact.

RampantIvy · 25/10/2023 17:42

Any time between 6 and 7.30. DH can't eat late for health reasons, and I'm never hungry much before 6.

Do people who eat at 5 not have lunch?

Crunchymum · 25/10/2023 17:45

7.30pm for adults, 5.30pm for kids (an adult usually sits with the kids at the table and has a cuppa)

Growing up dinner was 5.15pm. Barring Saturdays (it was a very random 4pm) and Sundays were 2.15pm.

As we got older and had college / uni / jobs put dinner would be kept for us if we wanted or we'd cook for ourselves. There was a 12 year gap between oldest and youngest sibling so my mum stuck to these times.

It sounds very rigid but it wasn't. Only time mum would hassle us all the be at the table was Sunday as it was usually the only time all of us were around to eat (parents and us 4 DC)

PupInAPram · 25/10/2023 17:45

Splishsplashsplooshsplosh · 25/10/2023 00:02

Wow I couldn't imagine eating at 5. We usually eat about 8ish (I try and aim for 7.30 but DH usually isn't home.by then. Kids are almost 9 (twins)

Wow I couldn't imagine eating at 8ish. I'm sitting at my desk at 6.30 am. I go to bed early. If I ate dinner at 8 it would be sitting in my stomach like a lead weight when I was trying to get to sleep. Wow, people are different and have different biorhythms, working patterns etc. Wow!!!!!

GigiAnnna · 25/10/2023 17:47

It depends. If eating with my kids, it's around 6pm. But usually I will eat later with my husband about 8pm when he's home from work.