To think this is a normal rule..

[Butterflykissess]

that children are not allowed to eat food in bedrooms or on sofas?! Does anyone allow their children to do this? as much as I tell my children they are not allowed food upstairs or on the sofa they ignore me and do it anyway. Aib u in thinking this is normal and most parents don't allow it.

Nope, not normal in my house. We have a dining room, easy to clean leather sofas and numerous vac-type devices - you can eat wherever is convenient as long as you clean up any mess.

It must be ever so tiring to impose these sorts of rules on yourselves in your own homes! I couldn't be doing with it. I let my toddler eat toast for breakfast in my bed while I read him stories sometimes. It's nice.

What about adults?
Do you ever enjoy a cup of coffee on the sofa in a morning / glass of wine there in the evening?
Two of life’s greatest pleasures IMO!

mancmummy1414

The answer is no. Might be a cultural thing, growing up in a Frenchy environment, you just don't eat all the time, be it just a single nut, a packet of crisps, or nib a biscuit. The same applies to drinks

I grew up with this rule.

All meals at the table, no food or drinks in bedrooms EVER and the eating on the sofa was a huge treat, normally cakes/biscuits/snacky stuff and you had to use a plate.

I find not doing this odd! Although I do take water into my bedroom and would probably take hot drinks too if I liked them.

My family I all still eat at a table even when we are on our own in empty houses with tempting sofas. And the next generation have been brought up the same way.

In the immortal mn style of words, you don't have a dc eating problem, you have a dc ignoring you problem

What happens when they ignore you, do you just let them get away with it? Or do you punish misbehaviour?

I'm not sure,I'd classify an occasional snack or a cup of coffee as eating all the time, that's rather, well odd.because it's clearly not.

We eat wherever we want, the only rule is you clean up after yourself, as such, it's never been an issue for me. Because we do.

I think each to their own, I just couldn't be arsed. I'm trying to imagine us wanting a glass of wine on a Friday night and some nuts or olives and having to go sit at the table to have it. Or not allowed to watch the breakfast news with a coffee. No coffee in bed at the weekend, Shows how different folks live.

I had a 'no eating in the bedroom' until DD was about 14yrs, then I gave in :-/ Now she's always eating in her room and I wish I'd been stricter.

Food at the kitchen table only. They are allowed water in their room at bedtime.

Very little eating or drinking around the house occurs. We usually eat meals together at the table. Very occasionally DH and I might get a takeaway in after the DCs have gone to bed, but months can pass by in the interim. DH and I don't like tea or coffee anyway, so that only happens when there's guests. If I'm thirsty, I make a drink of water or cordial in the kitchen and drink it. No biscuits as a routine. Every few weeks we might have an alcoholic drink in front of the TV, the can goes to the bin after. DH sometimes has something puddingy a couple of hours after dinner, but clears it up after.

The DCs understand that the lounge is generally food free. They can get away with something quite clean like a banana as long as the peel is binned immediately in the kitchen. Something like self-service cereal out of the box on the lounge floor and they're dealing with the aftermath. They rarely do it. They just accept it as normal. We've done film night with popcorn a few times but seldom. They just never established a habit of snacking infront of the TV.

The exception for the bedrooms is on a weekend when I bring them a croissant to encourage them to get up and ready for a 9am class, and when DS1 has been sent up there to chill out following a tantrum/meltdown which is often triggered by hunger so he gets something like a banana put in with him despite his howls of protest, and it normally gets eaten a few minutes after I've scarpered.

The house is nothing like a showhome, more like a toy factory explosion, but keeping the majority of food and drink in the kitchen means that at least the clutter is clean. DS1 leaves a toddler like devestation zone of food droppings around his zone of the kitchen table, so I'd be very reluctant to let him eat a meal anywhere that's not easily wiped down within 3 metres! (Suspected dyslexia could be a factor here)

The natural consequence of the clear-up seems to be effective as a deterrent.

I don't mind snacks upstairs but not full meals. Same with the living room really. Its not a rule as such as just all tend to eat in the kitchen diner.

I would like to ask the same question. Did you eat on the sofa as children? And do you find now you always reach for something to eat or drink whenever you turn the tv on?

DD had jsut one friend whose Mum enforced this rule. She was infamous amongst the friendship group (and the other parents), especially so when she forced one girl to spit out her chewing gum as she wasn't at the table

No food and only water upstairs. Completely non negotiable and because we’ve always had this rule it has never even been a discussion point. I don’t mind snacks on the sofa but all meals are eaten at the table

I had a no food in the bedroom when my children were small. No eating on the sofa is a bit harsh. Just use plates to minimise crumbs and use the upholstery attachment on the Hoover to keep the sofa clean.

one can eat wherever he will eat. and yes that does mean scraping weetabix off the keyboard the consequences of him not eating though are serious enough to warrent this. the rule book went out the window in response to their disabilities

dd encouraged to eat at table, or somewhere that the stain will not show. She is less co-ordinated. (suspect dyspraxia)

my dad never let us eat int he car normally. I now know why. but my childrens favourite treat at one time was to eat a picnic in the car.

Bedrooms here are just for sleeping and getting dressed in, so we'd only ever think of taking water there if someone is ill and we like to have meals at the table as a family, but biscuits, crackers, popcorn, sweets, dried fruit, nuts etc. are sometimes eaten on the sofa.

Messier snacks like crumpet with Marmite or an iced cake would be eaten on the sofa by adults but the children would have a small chair and table brought into the room so they could have theirs nearby without making the furniture sticky.

For us it is not about crumbs or spills, but more that you only eat at certain times and you don’t associate tv with food

I know what you mean, King: DH can't go to the cinema without snacks/drinks, whereas for me anything to eat stops me from losing myself in the film. I guess I should be glad that when I was first going to the cinema as a teenager I could never afford both a ticket and a snack, so I never got into the habit.

However, I'm going to think about this for the future for my DC. They're perfectly capable of watching a film on tv at home without a bucket of popcorn, and I think your point about associations is important.

All food including snacks eaten sat down at the dining table or the breakfast bar here - except very occasionally (like, 3-4 times a year) popcorn whilst watching a movie.same applies to adults. Drinks are ok anywhere in the house although the DCs only drink water anyway so doesn’t matter too much if it spills

For our household it was a rule when kids were little because they were messy but changed as they became teenagers - mostly due to boys constant snacking. Then the rule became “ no dirty plates/ cups to be left in bedroom”
Nowadays, on a working day me and my husband enjoy a late “ knee tea” on the sofa watching telly.

We don't allow food in bedrooms at primary school age and under. That has become less strict for dd now 13 as she often has friends over for sleepovers and they eat in her room in the evening. She also takes a snack up with her to do homework sometimes.

No eating in the main living room either. We have a TV room where they can eat popcorn fruit crackers etc but not meals.

Those of you only eating kitchen/ dining table , do you have other rules?
We don’t eat in car nor in the street. Except occasionally an ice-cream

Our house rule is you eat in the kitchen only unless you're ill.

Bedroom yes.

But we don't have a dining room/table so they sit in the sofa to eat all meals.

I've never heard of these rules - probably explains why my house is a pigsty!

I have leather sofas and wooden floors if that makes a difference.