How often do you eat at the dinner table?

[mosiacmaker]

How often do you eat at the dinner table vs on the sofa for “tv dinner”, and do you have kids?

My DP and I have no kids and we eat on couch in front of TV a lot and I am starting to dislike it. It feels lazy and boring and like a bad habit.

When we went to visit his parents I realised they eat all meals on the couch with the tv constantly on and I see where he gets it from (and was slightly horrified as this would never happen in my family!).

I would hate this to be our family norm in the future so I am trying to break the cycle now and get us into the habit of sitting at dining table to eat dinner. Maybe have a Friday night “tv dinner” but have this be intentional and a fun treat rather than the default.

But I am curious about what other people do and whether I am being needlessly old school on this?

Would you say you have the majority of meals at dining table/kitchen island/couch? Where do you eat breakfast?

Did this change when you had kids?

Where did your own family eat when growing up and is this reflected in what you do?

Every single night at the table, as a family, no devices, no distractions, etc. (Or in the garden on a nice day - still at a table though!)

Always have done - right from when kids were tiny. It's especially nice now, as they're teens with busy lives & it's a great chance to catch up & chat about our days etc.

Prior to kids, DH & I used to eat at the table most nights with only occasional weekend takeaways in front of the TV.

To be honest, I find it really uncomfortable to eat a proper meal on a tray, on my lap, on the sofa, so I'd always opt for a table anyway!

We eat at the table 7 days a week and have always done so (barring our student years).

Only exception to this would be if the dining table was full of DD16s revision that she was due to be going back to ASAP and we were having a takeaway (a very rare occurrence, which has happened once this year), then we'd eat in the living room.

Me and kids : breakfast together at the table.
Weekend lunches: all 4 of us together at the table
Evening dinners: everyone together at the table (although it's not always all 4 of us).

Always eat at a table - kitchen table if just the two of us - dining room table of adult kids and husbands are here

Generally at the table, even before DS was born. I hate eating on the sofa and it's an opportunity to have some time together. Breakfast and lunch might be on the sofa but dinner always at the dining table.

Breakfast wherever as everyone is up and out at different times. Lunch at the table if we are home. Dinner at the table and all together. No screens at the table.

Always, TV and phones off and sit at the table. DDs are 17 and 19 so only time we see them, lots of banter, lots of fun!

We live in Spain, so lunch is the main meal. Me and DD eat lunch at the table every day and DP with us at the weekends. Everyone eats breakfast at the table. Dinner is something light, and we all eat at different times due to schedules, so usually they usually eat that in the living room, but I eat at the table, as I prefer to. Our table is in the kitchen though, so not a fancy dinner table.

My partner and I usually always eat at a fully set table with linen, except when we eat takeout curry or something that might stain the linen and we eat off the coffee table sitting on cushions.

We have no tv on, and use it as a precious time to relax and chat about our day as we have a small baby. (Baby is their Moses basket asleep whilst we have dinner).

We have 3DC, all meals are at the table. Prechildren breakfast and lunch would always be at the table (we had a couple of weeks when we bought our first house when we didn't have a table and I hated having to eat breakfast on the sofa) but some dinners in front of the TV. However DH and I like such different programmes and watch them in such different ways now that I can't see us watching TV together when the kids leave home so will continue to eat at the table.

We have children, and always eat at the table. Only exception is occasionally on a Friday night we will have family film night and eat pizza in the lounge. We were the same before children.

Every day

We are empty nesters...always have and always will sit at the table.

A mix, DS and I prefer the table, DD and DH prefer the sofa. I’d say 70:30 sofa when DH is around (works away). Always at the table when us or DC have guests for dinner and for big Sunday meals.

I eat breakfast on sofa - all other meals are at the table. Son and partner eat breakfast there too.

2 adults, 2 DC 10&14
Evening meal: every day at the table. No telly, no phones/screens.
DH and I WFH so we have lunch at the table together or in the garden. At weekends lunch is more flexible depending on activities.
Breakfast is always in bed, except for DC10 who has his cereal in front of TV/you tube. The exception to breakfast in bed is when we have overnight guests then it's a big cooked breakfast at the table.

I have two young kids. We've always eaten meals at the table, either inside or outside in the garden. Its very rare we'd eat in the living room, and it would be more a kids carpet picnic scenario than a "tv dinner". We don't really eat watching tv - there's no tv in our kitchen.

My MIL used to eat on her lap in front of the TV a lot and I decided I prefer the table. So that's where we always eat. Our living area is open plan so it makes sense to use the table, its not in a separate cold room or anything. It has been a good opportunity for family talk with our kids.

I'd say between 90% of all meals at the table.

I would prefer a few more relaxed meals in front of the telly but OH would rather eat at the table and have the lounge room stay cleaner.

We're a family of 5 (3 teens) and we eat at the table for all meals if we're eating together. Sometimes we'll eat lunch on the sofa if we're not all eating at the same time.

We eat the vast majority of meals at the kitchen table. Sunday dinner at the dining room table. Christmas Eve is a picnic under the tree!

No screens at the table though. We have primary aged DC.

All meals at the table.

I don't want food all over my nice living room upholstery.

Bit different answer…. In summer my parents would always eat inside the house because my mother considered eating in the garden “dirty”. Now I have a family on my own and whenever the temperature is higher then 17c we eat outside in the garden. It feels like a holiday everytime😀So you can also do exactly the opposite of what you brought up with.

Couch meals is for special occasions , school vacations, take away pizza and movies when i am a night away. Maybe 5-6 times a year.

My kids are 2 and 3 and eat dinner early (around 4pm) they have their own little table they eat at. Me and DH eat when they've gone to bed and always on sofa in front of TV! I suppose we'll have to break this habit as the kids get older and we all eat together, but for now I like it! Only time we all eat at table is for family roast, maybe once a month, or someone's birthday.

As kids we ate most meals at the table. Tea in front of the tv was a treat. When I lived alone I always ate in front of the tv, and so did DH and I when we were a couple. Stayed the same way for a long time, even after having our daughter. But we now eat every meal away from the tv. Either at the breakfast bar or the table. It started with getting a new dog who didn't cope well with us eating that close to her, and while training her we moved to eating at the table. I now much prefer sitting at the table to eat. Catching up on each others day.