To be annoyed at this?

[MmeLindor.]

It sounds really petty but this annoys me.

At meal times our children (DD 9 yo, DS 7yo) mess around a lot. Most of it just being silly and giggling. When I tell them to stop they carry on and get worse. Sometimes I send one of them into the kitchen to finish eating.

When dh is here it is almost worse as he winds them up. Then I feel like I am spoiling the fun. I know i should just laugh with them but one of the things that I want my kids to have are good table manners and I think they are ok enough to do this.

I just got up and walked away from the diner table because I got so pissed off at them. I trie to say that I didn't want to be the baddie spoiling their fun but that it annoyed me. Dh pulled a face and got them giggling again.

Aibu?

yabu

Yes. Happens here too. I find that loss of pudding does the trick. Don't know what you can do about husband, will he respond to "no pudding if you are silly"?

your DH is the issue here methinks - very undermining behaviour.

You walked away in the middle of a meal?? Did you ask before you left the table?

YANBU at all and agree with zookeeper that your DH is undermining you.

Hmm sounds like your DH is undermining you a bit. I think you should talk to him about it separately.

You know what, giggling during mealtimes isn't necessarily a sign of bad manners. I will have a giggle with DP when it is just us, but I can also preside over Christmas dinner for two families without showing myself up.

Maybe you should have special evenings where you want really good manners from them? I don't mean manners go out the window other nights - some things like chewing with your mouth closed, saying please etc, are indispensable. But one night a week where they are expected to behave with 'company' manners or as they would in a restaurant.

That way, you would know they were learning this stuff without every meal being funereal. 7 is quite little to be serious all the time.

btw endo brilliant name :) That's about the one thing I remember from high school cell biology!!

My DC's though can giggle without messing around and they are 3 and 5.

YABU about general giggling and talking. I am strict on table manners, but to have a chat and a bit of a joke is perfectly fine. If they're messing around as in not eating, jumping around, flicking food, behaving rudely etc then YADNBU!

You and your dp need to be a united front on such matters. I see the issue here as being his non support and childishness not your DCs behaviour. Does he not respect your wishes?

Dh is your problem nit the children

Giggling is fine, you should try coping with arguments at the meal table It's relentless and makes me want to cry. Dh feeds them separately when I'm at work.

He does usually support me but not on this. I will be having a chat with him later.

I don't mind joking and don't expect the DC to recite Yeats at the dinner table. Would just like a meal where we can have a conversations that doesn't decend into giggling and food being sprayed across the table cause one of them bursts out laughing.

DD picks at her food and eats slowly anyway and when they are
Messing around it takes ages to finish a meal.

Am not well wt the moment so probably a bit bad tempered.

Now huffy cause dh hasn't come upstairs. Dd came up and apologised.

Endo
I did threaten that he would be sent to the kitchen to finish his meal, but he thought I was joking

I know what you mean, there is a difference between "having a giggle" and still being able to eat, and the sort of escalating giggling which results in water being sprayed across the table, cutlery hitting the deck, peas bouncing off the ceiling no food being eaten, and the very real possibility of one of them a) choking or b) being sick.

Yy that is it, Endo.

Not wanting to be Mother Of Doom here, but there is nothing but silliness and it spoils my enjoyment of the meal.

Make the threat going to bed without finsihing his food and follow through.