Or is my friend regarding evening meal times?

[BoxtheRight]

We’re in conflict about what time of day most people eat their evening meals.

She thinks that your last meal of the day should be around 6:30pm, with anything after 7 being far too late.

I think around 8pm is normal, and anything before 7 is far too early.

For context, neither of us have kids, and both start work at 9am.

Who IBU?

Me - YABU, anything after 7pm is too late
Her - YANBU, anything before 7pm is too early

We tend to eat at 9! Trying to make it earlier though, more like 8.

Normal to me is eating about six.

quite often between 8 and 9

Families, units of people and all variations thereof eat when is convenient for them. Nobody is unreasonable unless, say they have young children and they prefer to eat at 3 am so they make their children wait that long, for example.

No kids here , we eat around 8 , we would be a little earlier but DP doesn't get in until 7.30

DD doesn't go to bed until 8 so I rarely eat before 9, but prior to kids I'd say about 7:30pm - no one is right her or wrong - who cares!!!

Weekdays 7:30-8:00

Weekends 8:30-9:00

We are different on Different days. On days I don’t work the kids eat about 4:30 and I eat with dh after they are in bed at about 8. The days I work we all eat together at about 6 ish if we can.

I eat with kids around 5:30. I go to bed pretty early though so works for me.

We eat between 5-6.30pm. 8pm is much too late. I’d rather eat, clear up and then relax for the evening.

The one trouble with being an early eater is when you go out for meals, you rarely eat before 7.30pm, so you are starving.

I grew up with a strict 5:30 dinner time. I aim to have done dinner before 6pm but I'm less strict on timing and will often do it at 5 (but that's with toddlers so maybe later later on). I tend to go to bed earlier though when I can.

We eat early as we have children, but if I was having people over I’d be thinking to eat at 8 to 8.30pm. Same with going out for a meal.

I think people would struggle to get back from work, get changed and be somewhere else and ready to eat for 6.30.

Between 8 and 9 usually. Our DC eat around 5 when they’re here after school, if they’re at my parents they eat at a similar time. When they’re a bit older we’ll most likely all eat together around 7 but at the moment they’re too little to not be in bed by then and DH is never back from work early enough for us to eat with them.

Ideally at 7pm and no later than 8. DH doesn't get in from work till 6 and I don't tend to get in before 7pm when I am working so dinner is naturally later for us and the kids too. When I am at home the kids eat at 6pm and we all try to eat together. My in laws eat after 8pm which is far too late for me whereas my mum will eat at 5pm.

Neither of you are unreasonable. You just have different time schedules.

Personally I hate eating after 7pm and find social events where tables are booked for 7:30pm to be a chore as I always have to eat something small before we go as the reality is no food until 8-830pm.

On work days I eat pretty much as soon as I get home about 630. I am up at 445am for work do like to be in bed for 8.

Non work days I usually eat about 9pm.

Pre-DD we ate any time from 5.30ish to 9pm, depending on how hungry/organised we were. Post-DD she has her dinner at 5.45 and we usually all eat together, but if DP is late home then I'll make something just for her and we will eat after.

I actually prefer eating early now though as it means when DD goes to bed at 6.30 I have the whole evening to do what I want and don't have to then make dinner.

We only eat before 7pm on a Sunday - when we only eat one meal - but week days it's mostly around 9pm

I eat late but am reading a book which talks about eating in the evening within a 12 hour window of breakfast, so I should eat by 8.00pm.

Usually 7ish Monday to Thursday, a bit later on the weekend. My friend has dinner at 5.30 (no DC) and I always think if I ate then I would be looking for crisps or biscuits and cheese at about 10pm.

I do both

Bit of tea with the kids around 5.30

Dinner with DH around 8.30

I don’t eat much the first half of the day.

Pre DC I was usually still at my desk until 7 so dinner was anywhere 8-10pm.

6.47.

What do you all do that means you finish work in time to at at 5.30/6? And why is your food ready so quickly?? I only ask out of interest - no desire to eat so early. I'm rarely home by 6 and then there's cooking time.

Vegheaven why do you only eat one meal on Sunday?

We eat around 8pm usually but we live in Spain so are total freaks relatively speaking as everyone else eats dinner around 11pm.

That said, I've actually been eating at the same time as DD a bit recently - 6.45/7pm and it's been great although sometimes feel hungry before bed.