To think most people *haven't* eaten dinner by 6pm??

[JumboShiitake]

According to DP "most people" have eaten dinner by 6pm.

Referring to adults, not children.

He's obsessed with eating at a time I consider pretty early.

I'm giving him the side eye

[Plussizejumpsuit]

Really depends what we're doing when we eat. But very rarely would eat by 6pm. Maybe if we hadn't had lunch then did a tea time meal. In general it is anywhere between 6.30 and 8.30.

When we used to go outside and do things we would eat later for example picking up food on the way home at 9 to 10.30pm.

So yeah 6 is early

[LAgeDeRaisin]

Work depending, normally anywhere between 6 and 9pm. 7pm normally though.

But when my baby is bigger we might move it to 6 when possible to eat as a family

[Same4Walls]

We have ours at 16.00, but we have a 3 year old so we do it so it works for him.

4pm? Out of curiosity what time does your 3 year old go to bed? Surely he would be hungry again before he goes to sleep?

[LizFlowers]

I think 6pm is early. We (I hate saying 'we' but is appropriate in this context, husband, me and son), didn't have a set time but it was usually 7-ish. My child sat at the dinner table and ate with us from a very early age, before that he would be with us at the table. It was nice! However it obviously varied a bit, if one of us was working late or held up, the other two would eat and put one plate aside.

[LondonStone]

When we worked in central London we both left work at 6pm! Plus the commute which was 45 minutes on a good day and 1.5 hour on a bad day. It’s definitely 8pm or later in our house.

[FrostyChocolateMilkshake]

I am fasting so can only eat between 12-8pm. Usually have my tea about 6.30.

Pre-fast...usually would have tea around 7.30pm.

[MsTSwift]

I’d be starving before I went to bed if we ate so early. He should avoid Spain we used to host Spanish students and they thought we were mental eating “so early” at 7.15 ish! They eat at 9 ish

[xanthian]

If I'm not at work then I start cooking dinner at 6pm.

[Chipsahoy]

We eat with the kids around 5 nights a week, so yea by 6. The other two nights we eat around 8

[AbsentmindedWoman]

What time are you eating lunch if you're having dinner around 6pm?

I'd definitely want a snack if I had dinner that early!

[JuniLoolaPalooza]

We've eaten at 10.45pm before now, if bedtime is particularly dreadful. Ideally, 6.30 with the kids.

[knittingaddict]

This has been done before in a similar thread. However, we eat at 8pm. Before covid my husband wasn't home till 7pm at the earliest and wouldn't want to eat as soon as he got in. That suits me because I also like to eat later.

It's probably better/healthier to be eating earlier, but I just can't do it.

[alittlequinnie]

We're super-rigid with mealtimes because any change can trigger a migraine for me.

Breakfast - 10.30
Lunch - 1.00
Dinner - 7.30

No snacking or anything just those meals.

Funny though years ago I was a stay at home mum and hubby used to get home at 5.30 and I always had dinner waiting for him.

My mum was the same - she used to always put dinner out at 5.30 - she still does - then gets all confused when she phones at 7.30 and we are right in the middle of dinner!

Like most people on here don't even get home until about 6.15!

[combatbarbie]

Oh no I like early dinner, I like to be cleaned up and vegging in front of fire/TV by 6. (under 50 by the way....) However when we lived in Spain we all preferred to eat later or have a bigger lunch and snack for dinner.

[WalkingMeAway]

We eat dinner at 5.30pm most days with the kids. But we both work from home (pre COVID) so it works fine for us. Before kids we used to eat between 7-8pm.

[FAQs]

We eat at 5.30 when dd gets home from school.

[applecatchers36]

Kids eat dinner at 6pm by the time they have had a bath, had story and spent time chilling in bedroom/ falling sleep it's 8..00-8.30, so we eat 8.30/9pm we couldn't fit it all in any earlier, DH is still working at 6pm so we couldn't all eat together unless at weekend...

[idontlikealdi]

6 is early. I would leave the office at 6/630 and be home around 745. Mid wrangle and then dinner.

I don't miss it but I don't like eating as early as 6, I eat out of boredom later on. We all eat together now around 7.

[Timeandtune]

My DH is retired and I WFH . In recent years we have had our main meal earlier and earlier and always before 530. Agree it is a lifestyle/ age thing. I don’t like to eat too soon before bed time and I prefer to go to bed slightly hungry.

[knittingaddict]

Oh and if age is a factor, we are late 50's and early 60's.

[Amanduh]

We eat at 5.30 with the preschooler and the baby because I’m only cooking once! I don’t think most people do though unless they’re in the same situation!

[Templetree]

@TriciaMcMillan

DH downstairs cooking dinner now. Unusual for us to have sat down before 8pm. Is he Northern and this is a weird 'tea' thing??

I was about to say that but too scared
Every northerner Ive ever met eats really early and then has supper at 8pm
Toast/ tea cake etc

[FAQs]

• I work from home, if she gets hungry a few hours later she might have a bit of supper.

[Rockettrain]

I grew up in a house where dinner is called tea and it is eaten at 5.30-6. It’s an older tradition and I think was more common in working class homes where men would have been out all day - usually starting early and then finishing not too late, maybe 8-4.30 - in a physically demanding job. People also used to live near to where they worked, commuting wasn’t really a thing. So they’d be home by 5 and hungry after a hard day of working so tea would be 5.30 and the whole house eat together.

I think it was wealthier families where children age separately and parents would eat once husband is home from work and kids in bed. It’s obviously become a lot more common now.

We sometimes eat with DD if we haven’t had much for lunch so that would be at 6. Sometimes she eats separately and we eat once she’s in bed around 8pm.

[JustAnotherUserinParadise]

we have this debate all the time... I would happily eat at 5:30, but always make myself wait until 6. DH eats as late as possible - last night we ate separately and I ate at exactly 6, he ate at 9:30 :O