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Original poster

Do you eat the same food at the same time as your children - everyday?

396 replies

McDreamyGonagall · 17/07/2007 11:22

This has got me thinking after reading another thread.

I really want to increase the amount of times we do this. DH prefers to eat later as he has quite a late lunch but I feel we are missing out on enjoying time with the children, teaching them manners etc.

We do eat with them 2 or 3 times a week, just not every night. Also I tend to cook something different on the nights we don't eat with them. What do you do?

OP posts:
morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:33

Oooh you must have my 4 year old over for tea Haychee

She often tries new food at friends houses and then (as she always does) gags and vomits

I try to discourage this as it appears a tad rude to the hosts (especially child-free couples who seem to find this particularly appalling)

She is very polite though and always apologises

haychee · 17/07/2007 21:34

lol! Sorry, apologies if ive upset you in some way. It wasnt intentional.

saggermakersknockturnalley · 17/07/2007 21:35

Not gone quiet - gone for a shower, and to make up dd's packed lunch. Which is not the same as mine

morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:36

(Had a terrible experience recently with child-free friend who cojoled DD to eat her wonderful eggs that her chicken had laid that morning ("She isn't good with much variety" said I) - cue gleam in Child-Free-Friend's eye as DD said "Ooh yes please!" and ate several spoonfuls and then projectile-vomited all over £4,000 polished oak table and CFF went absolutely ASHEN and left the room and poor DD squeaked "Sorry, it came back!")

morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:37

(and then I let her dog clear it up)

haychee · 17/07/2007 21:38

blimey!

morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:38

aaah she just fussy

haychee · 17/07/2007 21:41

was she forced to eat it or what?

morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:44

No she eats stuff to be polite but really she hates it and is often sick

I have to say DON'T EAT IT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT

She DOES has terribly good manners

But she really only likes VERY FEW THINGS

haychee · 17/07/2007 21:48

i thought you were taking the p**s! Thats so sweet of her! I must get tips from you about enforcing the use of manners i always seem to be reminding my kids about manners. Youve done it to such an extent that your dd vomits when she feels she should be polite and eat someone elses food. Thats extreme! Good grief, im astounded!

morningpaper · 17/07/2007 21:49

Yes but I can't get her to eat any vegetables

It's swings and roundabouts

On the plus side though she is really really tiny and people smile and clap when she says things because she looks like an incredibly clever 2 year old

haychee · 17/07/2007 21:52

oh my word!

scattyspice · 17/07/2007 21:57

I'm in with the 2 wildly different children group.

Actually mine are quite convenient as one eats meat and the other veg, so they can share a dinner between them. .

lazymoo · 17/07/2007 22:37

My kids and DH eat together, I drink tea while they are all sitting at the dinning table. My family all eat the same. I have problems with food, big problems. If anyone of you were to invite my DH and I over for a meal it would be my idea of hell. I am a big women who eats her meals after everyone else, in a seperate room. You all wonder why, well so do I. The only reasons I can think of are these; 1/ My over riding memory of childhood is my Mam in bed having yet another miscarriage while my Aunt force fed me. 2/ My Dad was never made to eat his dinners and he insisted that I shouldn't be forced either. Upshot is, I have major food issue's 30 odd years later and my kids are made to eat some of every thing on their plate always, NO is not an answer in my house. I have had to retrain my idea of food wince meeting DH as until I was an adult I had not seen many different types of food in my house. I take great pleasure in cooking and cooking wholesome food with a great variety of flavours, textures and types of food. There is no way my kids are going to be scared/petrified of going to someones house for a meal. I am trying, and have been getting help for my food issues it is a great improvement to be sitting at the table with them, I hope to be able to eat a meal along side them soon.
I bet this has shocked people who let their children only eat what they like and leave the rest, I beg all of you teach your children to try new foods, it's awful being like me.

MamaMaiasaura · 17/07/2007 22:41

Yes, except at lunch as he is at school. He is 7 years old.

He eats a good varied diet so not eating the commercialised kids foods. Had shepherds pie tonight (homemade) and yesterday Spaghetti Bolongese. Tomorrow is probably going ot be cod steak. We eat at about 6pm. Breakfast, always eat togetherm usually porridge or crumpets or toast or hot cross bun. We also have some fruit at breakfast.

MamaMaiasaura · 17/07/2007 22:44

IF ds doesnt like a certain food (he doesnt like cooked apples or cooked raisins) then i dont given it to him. He happily trys all foods and he likes sushi although not all of it, he like the tuna but not the salmon eggs (cant say i disagree with him). He used to get teased when he had hot dinners at school as he ate all his vegetables and liked them.

puffling · 17/07/2007 22:44

I know we should eat together,but I couldn't eat my evening meal at 4.30! or my lunch at 11.30. If I were to got to bed at 7pm, perhaps our mealtimes would coincide.

MamaMaiasaura · 17/07/2007 22:48

also ds went ot tea at friends house and the friends mum asked if ds was ok with chicken burgers and chips. Was a little embarrassed a never made a point that we dont eat food like that. I said would be fine, once in a while doesnt do any harm. So she asked ds if he would like chips and he said 'only if they are homemade' . Friends mum lied and said they were. LOL

Reasoin ds homemade is beacuse i used organic potatoes, part steam and sometimes pop them uner grill or in the pan for a few minutes. They are yummy scrumy but norty!

GryffindorGHOSTY · 17/07/2007 22:53

Yes we eat together most nights. Only because I am ultimately incredibly lazy and if cooked for them at 5 and then for DH at 8 I would be in the kitchen from 4pm until 8.30pm and I have better things to do.
So I cook ONE meal and we eat it at around 6.30. By 7.15 the whole thing is done and dusted, all washing up done and we have the whole evening to ourselves.

Re. pickiness. I have two children who I believe I have treated the same ... one is and always has been a fabulous eater ... no problems, will eat anything. The other sees all food that is green as poison (apart from brocoli) and would live on biscuits if she could.

saggermakersknockturnalley · 17/07/2007 22:54

I'm sorry you have problems around food lazymoo. It sounds quite extreme.

You mention two issues there though - on the one hand you were force fed - on the other you were allowed to not eat. I wondered why you think it was the 'not eating' part that caused the problems ?

JodieG1 · 17/07/2007 22:59

Kids eat at about 4.30 as they're starving by then and I cook extra for dh which he heats up when he gets home. I don't like the kids eating dinner too close to bedtime as I don't think it's good for their digestive system so I prefer at least a couple of hours before bed after dinner. They're only 5, 3 and 6 months now so they don't stay up late. My parents are usually here for dinner most days so we all eat together during the week and dh eats later or sometimes I eat with him. On the weekends we all eat at the same times and Sunday is always a roast dinner.

Dh should be changing his hours at work soon and that means he'll be home at 4.30/5 which means we'll all be able to eat together every night.

JodieG1 · 17/07/2007 23:00

We all have lunch at about 12, dd has hers at school adn dh at work but ds1, ds2, me and whoever else is here eat together.

HairyToe · 17/07/2007 23:01

My twopenceworth. We are lucky enough to be able to eat together every night (me, DH, DD1, DD2). DD1 is now nearly four and has eaten at the table with us since she was a baby, given the same foods as us, included in cooking foods, encouraged to try new foods, taken to restaurants etc etc etc. She is the fussiest eater and no I don't pander to her she gets the same meal as we are having but a lot of the time only eats one bit of it and sometimes none at all. Dedicatedly remaining calm and only offering fruit between meals. So which bit did I do wrong? As obviously I am 'responsible' for my child's fussy eating. And by the way I am in no way obsessively clean and tidy

JodieG1 · 17/07/2007 23:06

I used to have certain issues with food, when I was around 17-22ish I had a thing where I couldn't eat in front of other people. I would avoid meals with family and with dh's family because of it. I used to feel very self conscious about it. When I first met dh we used to spend alternate weekends together and we both lived with our parents. I would drive 50 miles to him after work on a Friday not eat dinner, have a piece of toast on Sat for breakfast in his room and eat nothing else until Sunday evening when I got back home. Sometimes a pack of crisps in the pub after drinking but that would be it.

I remember no food issues as a child either so I guess it was all just me. I was quite small back then size 6 at one point but didn't really diet just ate low fat foods. I remember living on ryvita and crisps. I'm much better now thankfully and my children eat a variety of foods.

lazymoo · 17/07/2007 23:38

My Mam's Sister had emmigrated from Australia around the time my Brother was oneish, my Mam had 4 miscarriages between me and my Sister who is 4.7 yrs younger than me (my (DB is 2 yrs younger)and then 3 after. Aunt force feeding me was horrific I vomited in my mouth and was made to swallow it, my Mam has said in the past that my faddy eating got worse from then on, but that I was always faddy. Lots was going on in my life at that point tho .. Aunt and 2 Cousins living with us, DB just DX with CF and all the physio and another Miscarriage. Who knows what the reason is, it's just an awful part of me, one I would love to get rid off.