To eat in front of the TV?

[moita]

I've always been strict about eating in our dining room. I think part of it is the novelty of actually having a dining room (I had a poor upbringing).

I have a 3 and a 5 year old and dinner time has become incredibly stressful: they get very silly and end up not eating and me not eating as I'm trying to get them to concentrate on food.

Today we ate in the lounge: Disney film on and they ate their food with no arguments!

AIBU?

A couple of times a week won't do no harm.

Tell them they can have dinner and a film once a week if they can eating without any nonsense in the dining room the other nights. We were allowed our dinner on a card table in front of the tv on a Saturday. It was such a treat.

I wouldn't.

@ApolloandDaphne

Tell them they can have dinner and a film once a week if they can eating without any nonsense in the dining room the other nights. We were allowed our dinner on a card table in front of the tv on a Saturday. It was such a treat.

This what we do, but every fortnight. Pizza on laps and a film. Dining table (or picnic table outside in summer) the rest of the time.

MN would be totally horrified, but we often ate in front of the tv, and even had lap trays. In two homes we lived in, there just wasn't room for a dining table, let alone a dining room.

I don't think it damaged us, although who knows none of us like the sound of other people eating much, maybe we didn't get used to it enough when we were little.

I grew up eating in front of the tv and did the same with DD. I don't see a prob with it. She turned out fine.

Why not get a TV or use a tablet in the dining room?

No dining room- but tv off for most dinners but on for pudding.
I don’t get the big fuss, my sister and I ate dinner infront of cbbc together most of our childhood, our parents ate later.

I think it's better to make it for 'a treat'. Carpet picnic Christmas Eve/Birthdays, film & pizza Saturday night ... whatever.

You might find, at first they eat well, but before long they gawp at the box food half way to mouth.

It also stops conversation. Whilst you might not mind that at the moment, it really is a good opportunity to chat when they're a bit older.

Not everyone has a dining table/dining room (as you well know) but I think it's a shame not to use it when you do.

It's good to teach table manners and passing/sharing etc too. Setting/clearing the table are quite good jobs for young ones too.

My friend would say it's better for your digestion too! 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

It's one of those things that's easy to give up on, but quite hard to roll back!