If you have teens, what time do you all eat dinner/ supper?

[LesFlamandes]

We have (lovely!) friends staying with their three teen boys at the moment. Comparing notes, she likes to have everyone fed and the kitchen cleared by 6pm. I know her boys often head out to activities after that or do later homework. I’m very impressed by her organisational skills, but we never eat before 7-8pm (DH home at 7.45 3 nights a week so then it’s 8.) We tend to cook from scratch, and there is ‘gouter’ for hungry teens when they get in from school (both my own and any randoms that turn up.) DC13 and 15 have generally done after school clubs/ sports/ music practice/ homework/ tutoring by supper time and we love to just flop and relax with TV, games or hobbies (expect one evening when DD and I go to choir practice at 8.)

I’m just being nosey and wondering what other people do to manage the dinner time juggle.

People who eat earlier- say 6 or 6.30, would you also eat at this time if you had friends over or if you were going out for dinner?

We tend to invite friends over for 7pm to eat for 8, and make dinner reservations at 7.30.

I’ve just been in Canada, where they tend to eat earlier and in one town the only place to get food after 7pm was a (fortunately very good) sushi restaurant.

Eating late impacts on quality of sleep so we try to eat early.

Between 5.30-6.30pm usually. Depends on when we get in from work.

Between 5pm and 6pm. I don't really like eating much later and the kids (7 and 10) will have mown through all the food in the house and then not be hungry if I left it any later. They have a snack at around 4 after school but that only tides them over for an hour or so. DH finishes work at 5 and I finish at 4.

If we're going out or having people over or a takeaway we do tend to eat later but still rarely anything after 8pm.
I can't sleep if I'm too full and I go to bed quite early as I'm up for work at 5am and at weekends up at 7am for kids activities etc.

Sorry another post! We're going to Spain on Sunday where BIL lives with his kids and I know they eat and go to bed much later so I am anticipating having to adapt a bit!! Not really a big deal though esp as on holiday so everything is out of routine.

Yep, I like to be done eating for the day by 5-6pm but that's not practical when dining out or socialising. We're more likely to book a table for 7-7.30 and obviously depending on the type of meal could be eating for hours after that.

I really suffer for it later though, especially if it's rich food.

We all try and eat together and usually it's around 8ish. Teens normally home by 6ish and they'll snack when they get in. If we went to a restaurant would never book before 7.30 and if we have people round for dinner or go to people it's usually arrive 8ish.

I'd cook for 7pm if I was having friends over. Possibly invite for 7pm and cook for 730pm. Going out for dinner is often joyous if you can book a table for 6 to half past. Quiet restaurant and home early for bed!

I would genuinely have to make myself a sandwich at about 5.30 if I was expected to wait until 8.30pm to eat. And I agree with a pp who said I'd feel shit and bloated at bedtime if I hadn't eaten until that late.

I don’t know many people home from work by 6

What time are the 9 o'clockers going to bed?
I'm in bed by 10, 6pm-ish dinner for me.

I agree it is madness to try and corrale people with different activities, diets (in the case of our house) and eating rhythms into one time every day.

I didn’t batch cook but I did mega shop so that there was plenty of choice and stuff in for meals and snacks. Everyone fended for themselves and cleaned up after themselves. My dd called it living like ‘housemates’ which I was quite hurt by, but she meant it in a good way in that it suited teens and made them feel more grown up. Especially the late evening kitchen chats when people would be coming and going.

Less work for me and my DH too. I’d still do the occasional roast Sunday dinner and they all really appreciated it. Got lots of ‘thanks mum’ because catering was never taken for granted.

Mine are 18 and 20 now too and we rarely all eat at the same time during the week as we all go out most evenings and have done since the DCs were tweens. A lot of the going out is for exercise so that means eating very early or very late (before 6 or after 9). But neither DH or I get home from work till 5.30 at the earliest. I prefer going to the gym around 8 as it's quiet then. We are all night owls, 11 is an early bedtime in our house. I grew up eating at around 7 so anything earlier feels a bit strange but I'll do it if I have to.

I think the Spanish tend to be the latest to eat. I have Spanish friends and they think nothing of eating at 2200.

Mine are the same age of yours and we eat round the same time.

6.30 usually but it is any time until around 8 during the school holidays as no one has to get up at any particular time so we're all often up late.

Most people are still at work at that stage, or just leaving to get home. I don't know anyone who eats that early, except one person -- a primary school teacher who gets home at 3 and then has college in the evening!

Reality of working parents. 7 is standard dinner time around here. Worked around music/ football etc, etc. and we live close to the city -- people who live in the suburbs with a long commute must be later.

I usually aim to be in bed for 1, but have been trying to go earlier since I had back surgery last month as I know I shouldn't be sitting upright for too long. It feels really early for me to go to bed at midnight 😆

We're later for dinner, not always 9pm but we do tend to be up later no matter when we eat. 2am is actually a fairly normal bedtime for me, early for me would be midnight. I have health issues so I don't sleep very long at night and often have an afternoon/early-evening nap so that can also affect when we eat.

Even when DD is on an early shift starting at 6.30am she's in bed at around 11pm.

No idea why mine is crossed out!

13&15 here and we all just fend for ourselves in holiday time.
As I'm out working and they're not, there's no way I'd be cooking anything for them during holidays. I wouldn't be happy if they expected me to either. They will sometimes cook for me, if they're home when I get in.
They're still asleep when I have breakfast 7am they have their breakfast when I'm at work, 11am, they'd have their lunch when I'm at work 3pm, I'd have my dinner at 6 when I'm home and they'd probably eat around 8 as they go to bed later. And, befire anyone says, when do you get a chance to chat to your kids then, it's so important - I would answer, all the blooming time, too much!

Interesting that some people with older teens have a ‘help yourself’ system. DD have friends who do this too- all prepare their own meal. DC are involved in the cooking. DD can prepare a whole family meal and I encourage both he’ll as I want them to have decent cooking skills.

We occasionally prepare a meal that people can eat at different times if there are various commitments. But this is the exception and we eat together 90% of the time. I was raised in England by a French mother so I suspect don’t only have Gallic attitudes to eating en famille but Gallic attitudes from in 1972 (when my mum left France!)

6pm every night. So they have an evening.

5-6 most days

12&14. Officially i.e. in the holidays or when they don't have activities 6-630pm. Twice a week, DH collects one and eats with DC on the way home at 830pm. Twice a week, DH & I eat at 6-630 and the DC eat when they come in between 715-8 pm.

Going out is rare, but we would book for 630 pm.

Anytime between 7 and 8pm. Have done for years. DS is 16.