Do you watch tv while eating dinner?

[AngryBird6122]

We do.
Our table is in our living room and we can see the tv from the table(it's quite a big room) although I tend to eat on my lap on the sofa (dc have to sit at table)
eg yesterday we all watched Wednesday - probably not the ideal dining company as it was a gruesome episode!

Yes if we eat when the kids are in bed. No when we eat with them.

Yes, I think you’re right. Whatever gets them talking and makes them comfortable to do so is the best way to go about things. Those who rely so heavily on dinner time chat could be missing out.

I eat whilst watching tv. I like it, have no desire to talk to people when eating and I’m comfortable in my class.

I think it screams insecurity when you can't be comfortable in your choices without insulting people who choose to do things differently.

It’s not sneering at anyone.

I genuinely find it sad thinking about my family sat watching tv whilst eating. Family life is so busy and sitting down for 15 minutes for everyone to catch up is imperative to keeping in the loop of everyone’s lives etc.

Tv can be watched at any other time but how often are families all sat still in one place connecting.

Same. I find it particularly strange the the OP eats on the sofa while her kids sit at the table.

You feel sad about families sat watching TV while eating. Really? I can think of far worse.

Not all families are the same though. People have different demands on their time. It’s weird to assume that people who watch the TV while eating don’t get 15 mins to chat as a family at other times.
We don’t watch TV while eating but I’m not unimaginative enough to think that those who do don’t chat to their kids, or ‘connect’.

No we eat at the table in the kitchen as a family. Every now and then we might sit in the living room have sometimes to eat and watch a movie.

Your language says otherwise - watching TV doesn't have to mean everyone is "sat gawping in silence".

You also say TV can be watched at any time but families can catch up at any other time too. It doesn't just have to happen at the table for 15 minutes a day.

I have misphonia - many mealtimes round the table ended in me losing my temper and leaving the table without finishing because of the rage I would feel at the sound of others eating. DH and I eat with our meals on trays in front of the TV which I turn up quite loud. DH really prefers this as it means he can relax when he eats with me knowing it’s not setting the rage off!

It’s bad manners to talk when you’re eating 😂

Always at the table. I've found, after 20 years of teaching, that the children with the best vocabulary and reasoning skills are children who dine at the table with their parents. They are usually very well informed on current events too. That's why I insist on it now that I have a family of my own.

And why’s it a ‘bad habit’? Biting your nails is a bad habit, watching TV whilst eating your tea isn’t.

No

Yes but choose tv program wisely.

I’ve never watched TV whilst eating any meal lol. We sit at the table, chat or read or listen to music.

My (young adult) children are ND. They find it pressurising to sit at a table with others, ok when we're out for a meal or at other's house but every day, no. Luckily we have lots of other times to chat (as others have said car, walking, anywhere that you aren't sitting close to and opposite someone). So they tend to take their food to another room and eat it there. We are actually a very close family but it's nice to know there are plenty of judgypants out there sneering at us in the guise of "feeling sorry for us".

No, we don’t have a TV and we eat as a family at the table every night. We did the same before we had DC.

Seems a bit antisocial always to have the TV on while eating with other people.

When the children were home we always ate at the table. But ten years into our empty nest state and we have slipped into bad ways and almost always eat off trays in front of the telly. Especially in winter. In summer we eat in the garden when we can though

No it isn't.

sometimes, unless it is subtitled
that is when is just dh and i
but when dc join us, at the table generally.

Why do you assume everyone means 'always'?
People may sometimes have the telly on while eating, and sometimes not. They might have dinner in front of the TV but sit at the table for lunch. Or do one thing on weeknights and another on weekends.
I also find it odd that it's 'antisocial to have the TV on'. My DP and I (and any lodger when we have one, if they're eating/watching with us) will often watch things that you can shout at/comment on. And/or what we watch will trigger an interesting conversation afterwards.

Exactly - it's just snobbery, and IMO it screams insecurity to judge people for doing something perfectly normal like watching the TV.

No, we mostly eat at the breakfast bar in the kitchen and sometimes at the dining table. Dc are now 20 and 17. Over the years we have very occasionally eaten in front of the tv in the living room if we were going to watch a particularly long film or there was something special on tv at a particular time, but rarely.