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Original poster

What time do you have tea?

29 replies

Schroeder · 29/09/2010 15:07

Now I'm sure this has been done to death and I also expect some people will take exception to my calling our evening meal 'tea'.

But, please I'm just wondering if we're unusual; we eat at about 5.30pm mostly.

If you eat much later in the evening, how does that effect your children's bed times?

OP posts:

meltedmarsbars · 29/09/2010 15:08

Tea at a quarter to four, supper at 6.30pm or later at the weekends, dahling!

Ladder · 29/09/2010 15:08

It varies from 5 - 6.30 depending on what time everyone gets home. But I serve at the time when 'most' are at home and plate up anyone who will be really late.

BigusBumus · 29/09/2010 15:10

Tea at 5 (children only). They also have Supper just before bed at 7.30ish.

Dinner for DH & I at 8pm when he gets home.

At weekends we all eat together at about 6.

Serendippy · 29/09/2010 15:43

I would like to figure this one out as well, as am on a thread about a diet for a 1yo and if I ate the same as her would be great, however 5-6 is waaaaay too early for me to eat and DH would then have to eat alone. Might start having a piece of fruit with DD when she has tea and then proper dinner later with DH.

Does anyone else find they can't actually sit down and relax and enjoy a meal while DCs are still up?

TrinityRhino · 29/09/2010 15:44

tea between 4 and 5
supper at 7

SheWillBeLoved · 29/09/2010 15:49

DD eats between 4.30-5pm, I don't eat until around 8 when she is in bed and asleep so I can enjoy it in peace without her tossing hers aside and wanting mine even though it is exactly the same

Original poster

Schroeder · 29/09/2010 19:04

Ok if you have tea and supper-is tea just a crumpet/teacake/cucumber sandwich? Or do you have 2 proper meals?

OP posts:

BigusBumus · 29/09/2010 19:21

No other way really. Tea for the kids is a proper meal and then supper is a kind of crumpets with honey thing.

unfitmother · 29/09/2010 19:26

Tea for dcs at 6pm, dinner for grown-ups at 8.30

BuzzingNoise · 29/09/2010 19:27

Normally at about 9pm, although DS eats a lot earlier, at about 6.30.

ByThePowerOfGreyskull · 29/09/2010 19:29

we have recently moved to having teadinnersupper at 6.15pm
the boys get a snack when they come in from school then we eat together when DH comes home.

Hwoever there are days like today when the fridge is bare that the boys have had left overs from last night and dh and I are eating soon.

when we do that the boys eat about 5.30 and we eat abotu 8pm

1234ThumbWar · 29/09/2010 19:30

If we are eating all together then 6.30, if not then dc's at 6 and us later depending on what time DH is home. Often about 9ish.

JoanHolloway · 29/09/2010 19:31

Normally we all eat together at 7-7.30pm.

pointydog · 29/09/2010 19:32

6 or the back of. When everyone tends to be home.

CrispyTheCrisp · 29/09/2010 19:33

DCs eat at 5pm, we eat 7.30/8 ish (DH cooking now . I usually have a cuppa when they are eating or am making sandwiches for the next day etc. They so not appear to notice that i am not eating . That said, we eat lunch all together 5 days out of 7

On sundays we have a roast all together about 4pm as we have brunch rather than breakfast and lunch

taffetacat · 29/09/2010 19:34

DC have dinner at about 5, dependent on activities. DH and I eat about 7 or 8, same thing quite often, warmed through. If DS is still around/awake, he may have an extra helping with us. DD is always asleep by then.

They do have a snack the minute they get out of school/kgarten as well - little sandwich/apple or something to last them til 5-5.30.

At the weekend, we eat together at about 5.30-6, or sometimes on a Sun will have a late brunch and then eat a main meal around 4 with a snack at 6.

Hulababy · 29/09/2010 19:36

It very much depends on which day of the week it is, and works around 8y DD's activities.

So:

Tues/Wed - DD eats about 5pm, and then goes to Drma/Brownies

Mon/Thurs - we all eat together around 6:45-7pm, once DH is in from work, o DD is home from climbing

Fri - DD eats with her two friends who come over; me and DH eat with friend's parents (Katz and her DH) later in evening.

We have always tried to eat together as much as possible.

DD's bedtime is between 8-8:30pm roughly, and she tends to read once up there for a little while. A little later on Tues/Wed as she isn't home til 7:45pm.

Weekends vary massively and bedtime becomes very flexible!

clippityclop · 29/09/2010 20:11

DDs have fruit/toast after school at 4pmish then dinner's at 6/6.30pm when we're all home every night except Monday when it's Broiwnies at 6pm so the girls have an early meal together and I eat with DH later. On Sunday we invariably have friends and family round. We have dinner at lunchtime and tea (sarnies, cake etc) a bit earlier than in the week. Have kept these hours right since they were born.

MiniMilk0610 · 29/09/2010 20:52

We all eat together about 6-6.30pm depending on how organised I am/how much cooking DS has let me get done before DP gets home!

DD sometimes has a snack (apple & peanut butter/hm fruit muffin/toast etc) when she gets home from school if she whinges says that she's hungry.

I'm considering feeding DS (8 months) earlier though as he's started getting too tired to eat at 6ish...difficult as I really like that we all eat together...might just start giving him his main meal at lunchtime so that he doesn't matter if he just picks at dinner time.

MiniMilk0610 · 29/09/2010 20:55

Oh and to answer last part of your post, DCs go to bed between 7-7.30pm so quite soon after dinner. I tend to bath them earlier in the day so is just brush teeth, story time etc to do after we eat. If I try to feed them earlier then DD complains that she's hungry again before bedtime anyway, so figure I may as well feed them slightly later so we can all eat together!

ByTheSea · 29/09/2010 20:57

We usually sit down together and eat as a family at 7.30. DC have later bedtimes than most of their friends but are thriving anyway.

lovechildofBjork · 29/09/2010 21:02

We have tea at 6.30-7. Then DS (11 mo) is carried to the bath, and then put to bed. He seems to go later than my friends DC, but it means that we can all eat together. He also gets unbelievably messy at this meal so needs to go straight into the bath.

For me, "tea" is the evening meal at home. "dinner" is our evening meal if we eat out. For my mum, dinner is lunch.

We're not posh enough to have supper

IsThatTheTime · 29/09/2010 21:04

Doesn't it depend how old your DCs are and what time you want them in bed? My DDs are 4 and 1 and my DH is often not home until DDs are ready for bed, so they eat at 5 and we eat at 8. When they're bigger I expect I'll turn into one of those "dinner on the table at 6.30 and if you're not there it's your lookout" types (fishwife alert, fishwife alert).

With the cooking thing, I either cook family amounts for the 5pm "sitting" and reheat for grown-up dinner (shepherds pie, pasta sauces etc) or prep it all at the same time for the 5pm sitting and do 2 lots of cooking (stir fries, the actual pasta bit etc).

Or we all have fishfingers and chips and who cares then anyway?

PatriciaHolm · 30/09/2010 13:44

Children have tea about 5.30ish, DH and I eat dinner together about 8.30pm (children are 4 and 6 so asleep by then!)

Bonsoir · 30/09/2010 13:48

We sit down for dinner between 8 and 8.30 pm.

Children (5, 13, 15) go to bed at 10.30 pm, 9.30 pm and 10 pm respectively.

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