Is this an English thing?

[HereForTheLineEyes]

The only people I have ever come across who make 2 different dinners a night (one at 5ish for DC and one at 8/9pm for the parents) are English.

Do you do this or know anyone who does? Each to their own, but shopping for, prepping, cooking, serving up and cleaning away 2 dinners a night seems like madness to me.

cheerfuk so how are children in France for example coping?
They are eating with their parents around 7.00~8.00pm every night.
They have a snack at about 4.00~4.30pm.
They are not starving at 5.30pm so they have to have a meal there and then.

Lots of countries wouod not consider having two separate meals.

brexit

As I said, all children are different. So the French (general stereotype) can do it however they please!
I also didn't say my children were starving by 5.30pm- just ready for food.

I'm sure they would survive a couple more hours  but the way we do it, suits my family.

Irish and I cook one dinner which we all eat together or save a plate if one of us is running late. Normally have it around 7pm as we both work outside the home and its normally 6.30 when I get home.

Probably is a commuting thing now that I think about it (seems obvious ). I live in NI and the distances people consider an acceptable commute are generally much, much smaller (que poster telling me they have a 5 hr round trip commute to Belfast every day), and a lot of those living rurally farm.

We’re both shift workers and I grew up with both my parents being shift workers too so I was used to meal times being variable. Ds generally has dinner about 5pm. It suits him, he’s hungry then and he goes to bed at 7 so leaves time for wind down, bath etc. But I do two meals yes as invariably one of us is working late/night shift and even on dayshift DH doesn’t finish till 7pm and I don’t finish till 8. Eating together later in the evening is some of the only time we have together.

I could commute from Glasgow in less than 5 hours!
Tonight I’m making curry which dc won’t touch so am making too dinners. We are all ready to eat by 5.30, possibly we are very lower class I don’t know.

Yup, definitely a commuter thing. DH not back till c.9.30-10pmish most nights. DC bedtime is 7pm. I eat with DH because otherwise we’d have no socialising time whatsoever. Necessity forces two separate mealtimes, not preference. If we’re both off at the weekends, we eat as a family at about 5ish.

But, supporting your original hypothesis, we are English. (Maybe 1.5hr commute and long working hours presumably a bit less common in your area?)

I don’t this. Not English.

I don't do this. Nor did my mum. Although we emigrated to England when I was a baby so not sure we count as totally English!

I cook two dinners most evenings- my children are ready to eat at 5ish, and tired by 7, so they eat then, and DH and I eat together at 8ish. Often we have something different to the kids- we both love food, and trying new recipes. Kids are good eaters but wouldn’t always eat what we have. Also, I don’t think DH should be relegated to eating reheated leftovers. I enjoy sitting down and having dinner with him - it gives us chance to catch up properly.

I don’t usually find it any bother, it’s just what we do. And my kids don’t eat “beige food” every day by any stretch

Yeah, I wasn't going to eat 5ish, nor was I going to wait until after 930pm when dh got in, so I'd feed the dc at teatime, then cook mine and dh's about half 7, eat mine and plate his up for later.

Just practicalities really, and not ideal, I've got to be honest!

I fit your theory, OP

I'm English, but have lived in Ireland for many years. When my DC were small I'd give them their dinner at around 5 and DH & I would eat around 9 when they'd gone to bed.

It was just normal for us.

I do and don't fit your theory as I'm Irish but live in England! Our childminder feeds the children three days a week and at the weekend we eat together and DD2 usually turns her nose up at it. On one of the other two days, the children have a picnic in the car because of after school activity timings and on the other either I cook something that can be warmed through later for me and DH, or we have a take away.

Either DH or I aren't home until 8pm and our girls (equivalent of Junior Infants and 1st class respectively) would last until then.

Horses for courses OP. We commute an hour each way.

Not usually (am in England).
Ds has a sandwich or something at half 3 and we all eat together somewhere around 7pm.
I really wouldn't be hungry at 5.30 pm!
Occasionally I'm still not hungry at 7 so I eat something later.

The kids eat at 5.30pm but the au pair cooks for them .

DH & I have dinner around 7-7.30 depending on which who gets home first

I think some people just have to, if their spouse gets home too late for the kids to reasonably eat. Not sure why nationality would play any role in that to be honest.

It’s not always the spouse getting home late you know, women work too.

Hobo I specifically used spouse because it's gender neutral.

I see what you mean, but it’s still the person reading (ie the mumsnetter) waiting for the spouse to come home from work. I’m sure some of us work longer than our spouses. Either way, no one male or female is coming between me and my dinner, I will wait for no one

Well yes, because if one parent isn't home earlier then there's no opportunity for the kids to have an early dinner, and the split dinner time issue wouldn't apply. I really don't think it's a gendered issue.

We do this. The Nanny feeds our daughter between 5 and 6. We both work full time and commute do we get home later, put daughter to bed and then eat ourselves. At the weekends we all eat together around 6ish.