Do you or did you eat dinner with your children?

[RedRobyn2021]

DD is 3 and we always have eaten breakfast lunch and dinner at the table together (unless she's at preschool then she has lunch there). This does mean dinner for her has been quite late so she could eat with her dad when he's home for 5:45/6

I've noticed a lot of parents don't do this, that their kids eat early and then the parents eat later

Just wondering what other people's set up is and why you've chosen that way

We always ate dinner as a family, dinner would be around 5.30 when the DC were younger so that often meant DH ate later as his hours were variable so sometimes he'd be home sometimes not.

My mother and I usually ate dinner at 7.30- 8pm. My father would come home late from work, so he would eat later. Most nights I would be awake, so we would be in each other's company.

We aim to all eat together before the DC's various evening activities. Everyone has the same food. Timings vary between 1630 and 1800 depending on what we have on that evening. Sometimes I don't make it back in time, but then DH will eat with DC's and I'll microwave the leftovers when I get home.

No, but I’d sit and chat with them, and we always have breakfast together and lunches at the weekend.

Can’t do dinner at 6pm, we’d eat about 8. Now they are bigger they do too, obviously

No. I didn't get home until 1930. Weekends yes but during the week it wasn't viable.

Yes we eat dinner all together

The kids are wild though and cannot seem to sit still for more than 10 mins, so they are short n sweet

I would like to eat all together but it is difficult to make it work logistically.

The kids used to eat dinner at nursery and then early to bed. So even at the weekends, they wanted dinner at like 4-5pm which is just too early for us.

Now they are in primary, they eat at after school club 3x a week, the other two weekdays they eat early and then are off to activities and the other parent isn't home till 6/6:30 so late to eat together.

We are trying to eat together at the weekends.

We do. Sometimes DH might be late home, but we eat at 6:15 ish

*This does mean dinner for her has been quite late so she could eat with her dad when he's home for 5:45/6

That's not late. We have always eaten together as a family.

We had no choice on weekdays, child was ready to eat a horse by 5, husband not home until 7. Weekends we ate together mainly.

Yes we eat every meal at the table with the children, unless there’s an England game or similar on then we might have pizza in the lounge as a treat.

We all eat together around the dining table and have since weaning. Sometime between 5 and 6pm. Kids are 2 and 5 so I expect this to get later as they get older. Also hopefully quicker, we are at the table for 45mins, sometimes an hour with pudding!

Early dinner was a massive change as we used to eat at 8/9pm but its actually really good as the longer fast is great for your body, makes weight management really easy!

Maybe once a week we eat after they've gone to bed depending on schedules/ plans.

We always eat as a family and talk about things. No phones at the table. Usually around 6pm.

We all eat dinner together in the week, breakfast and lunch varies, at the weekend we usually eat all meals together.

Amazed at all these. My kids want to eat beige food ( and pizza) . I’d rather eat proper food so we do kids at 5-6 and adults 7:30-8. Often the second parent is not home til this time anyway. We eat together at weekends.

Always eat with the children, and we always eat the same things. If we eat beige they eat beige, if we eat veggies and exotic recipes, they do the same. Now they are older they sometimes sort themselves out at weekend lunchtimes.

Dinner 4pm. We always eat together.

My 2.5 year old has always eaten with us (for dinner anyway, sometimes he's not ready for breakfast straight away). To me it seems like the simplest option, and nicest! I don't remember my parents feeding us 3 kids separately to them either.

DDad ate dinner at 4/4.30pm as he worked 6am till 2pm Monday to Friday so as a family we all ate around this time.

We eat together around 6pm, DDs are 5 and 2. It means once they're in bed we can just relax too, no having to cook another meal, I don't like cooking that much and certainly don't want to have to do it twice in one evening. Plus I like us all eating together.

DH sometimes doesn't finish till 5pm so his dinner is tinfoiled up and he will eat when he gets in. Been like this for years.

Not really during the week. DS eats dinner at nursery and only needs a snack before bed at 7.

During the weekend, we do eat dinner together and I imagine that will increase as DC’s get older and can stay up past 7.

DH works late doesn't get in the door until 10pm ish. So I eat with DS around 4.15-5 ish.

Never i cant stomach it slurping slushing sniffing gulping eating with mouths open food falling out talking with a mouth full so no never.

As a child we would eat before my parents but my dad worked long hours and it would be 7:30/8 when he was home so not feasible.

My mum once mentioned this to another mum and she said “shame on you” to her because her family had dinner together every night at 5pm. Her husband worked as a civil servant was home by 4:30pm every day…

Tbh I think it’s nice if you can all eat as a family but unfortunately for a lot of working families that’s just not possible.