Do you eat with your toddler?

[BabiesNeedInstructions]

I eat breakfast with ds 19mo every morning, and we have lunch together on the days he's not at nursery. But he has dinner at 5:30 and only eats certain things, so I never have dinner with him. I want to wait until he's in bed and cook a proper grown-up dinner with DH when he's home from work, rather than have fish fingers or whatever in what I consider to be mid-afternoon! Usually while ds eats I sit with him and chat and have a cuppa, or unload the dishwasher or something in the same room.

Do any of you out there actually eat that early? Should I feel bad or stop being such a pfb mum?!

I said formal, restaurant is not formal. And your idea of what is ok is clearly very different from mine so I do wonder how the other diners where with your 2 year olds table manners

Thank you for your good luck wishes, much appreciated

if you are in another room how would you even know what table manners your 2 yr old was or wasnt doing?

two yr old with table manners my arse, yes they can eat nicely themselves, but still need reminding, prompting etc.

I was going to post on this thread, but it looks like its moving away from the OP so I shall just back out slowly instead...

Have you NC recently Holy?

Oh God, I was starting to worry about when I should focus on DS's table manners (he's nearly 2). But it's too late already!

Why do you need to know bogeyface?

Recursive - if he sees you modelling good table manners he will, with the odd prod in the right direction, pick it up!

We try and eat together at about 6. That's me, dh, ds1 and 2. If for any reason dh is late then the children eat together and I sit with them with a brew. The kids get what we have unless they are eating with no parents.

I dont, just curious :)

Always. But late - 7ish. Downside of course is she goes to bed late so we don't get much of an evening, but then I get some lovely lie-ins. It's also fab to be able to take her out for dinner and if we end up eating out at say 8, it's not too much of a change for her. She's always been a great eater and I think a lot of that has to do with her copying us.

We all eat the same and together. Dc are 2 and 4.

So you have then? I take it you are on someones arse list? I can see why.....

Sirzy, yes, I hoped that . But when do I become more serious about it? I don't want to ask him to eat with his mouth closed 10x / day and for it just to become background noise IYSWIM.

Did you mean to be quite so rude then Bogeyface?

I feed my children one way, you another. But all this angst from you? Demands to know if I've namechanged? Telling me I'm on someone's 'arse list'? Why on earth are you so worked up?

Yes, yes i did

Wow.

Worth the bother was it?

I almost want to ask if you have food issues.

But then I don't actually care.

I eat every meal with DS (late meal in the evening and he sleeps late). It's turning into a nightmare as he wants what I have. Exactly what I have. So if he's eating (full fat) yoghurt, he wants my (fat-free) yoghurt. Tonight he insisted on sharing my very hot curry. I'll probably cure it by just leaving him to eat by himself - he's 13 months now, what more can I have to teach him?

I always eat dinner with DS, I have a small version of what he's having. I then have a second, proper grown up dinner with DP later.

I feel bad for DS eating on his own on the odd occasions that he does, and I notice he eats much better when we eat together.

DH, DS and I usually eat together around 7pm, as DS doesn't go to bed until around 9. Like many others, I find that having two sittings is faffy and takes up most of the evening.

No I dont.

You know what,, I did mean to be rude but I shouldnt have. I apologise.

You have rubbed me up the wrong way but that doesnt excuse out and out rudeness, and for that I am sorry.

I disagree with your beliefs and I find your attitude unpleasant, but as I said, that doesnt excuse my rudeness.

I do think that for some people food is almost a hobby...they like cooking together...theyr'e interested in food in the way some people like gardening.

I think food is boring. I like eating som things...but social eating has never been a thing I enjoy...maybe Holy is like that?

We eat with the DC mainly because DH and I don't make a big thing o cooking together...I cook...we eat together. Sometimes, we don't want to...s the DC have something easy and we have a takeaway later...that's about s much of a treat as we manage...but we like that...it feels naughty somehow.

We do get takeaways with the DC sometimes too!

Bogeyface, why write an apology that just has a further pop at me? Don't apologise if you're not capable of doing it sincerely.

You think it's wrong that my children eat alone. Fine. Bit strange given that your first post says your one year old also eats alone:

"I have 6 kids and this is one of those weird things that sort of sorts itself out.

They do eat early when they are little (I have a one year old who eats her dinner alone"

We could talk about your attitude, but I'm just not bothered about you, what you do, how you come across. Any of it really.

I don't like hypocrites though.

Just about every meal is eaten with DD by at least one of us, breakfast she eats alone sometimes if DP is having a lie in - as I don't eat breakfast most day. But lunch and dinner we also eat together, same with snacking generally. She eats what we eat (other than breakfast if I'm cooking it obviously) and often straight from our plates once she's eaten her share.

Like most others who said they do this though, she doesn't eat at 5pm, but 6:30-7 like us.