Family meal times

[TLV]

just how many of you actually sit down as a family to eat and how many times a week, I've always been of the mind that I wanted dd to have happy memories of us sitting down at mealtimes altogether but with work its not always possible and it was one of the things dh got narked about the fact that I expected him home on time to eat, does it really matter that much and how much importance do you put on it?

What has happened to family bonding since the arrival of the dishwasher?

We eat dinner together most evenings. It is like eating with a couple of savages (dcs are 21 mths and 3) I guess their table manners will improve one day1

We eat dinner together every day, i sit and have breakfast with DCs every day, hubby does when he is home.

They are all at school so sit my myself and that is normally at table as usually with a book open.

When the chidlren are off i always sit and eat lunch with them, unless they are having a picnic in the garden.

Our three are 7,5,3 and like to tell us all about their day at school. Am just letting the eldest help with the dishes as no dishwasher in our house.

Breakast is at 7.30 weekday and 8.30 weekends. Dinner is served between 4.30 and 6.30 depends on what clubs are on. Luckily we don't mind eating that early as hubby is postman so is up v early so is ready for dinner earlier than most people i suppose.

We all eat the same meal at the same time every night. Apart from when OH is at work late.

We bought a dining table recently but I and hubby eat on our laps, the children sit at the table.

I should really make an effort to set the table everynight and ALL eat up there

We eat dinner together every night about 7ish Later at weekends.breakfast and lunch though are a bit hit and miss unless we are all here together or on holiday.Ds is 13 though

We never manage breakfast all together as it is too rushed and hectic. At weekends we do, but it will be on our knees int he living room or we may go out for a late breakfast at a local cafe.

Lunch varies - yes at weekends; no during week as school.

Dinner - as often as possible. Dh gets home at 6:30pm so I try and have dinner ready for the. We sit together at the dining table, no Tv or radio and chat and eat.

However if DD has a play date she eats early with them at her table in the kitchen, and DH and I eat later together.

At weekends we almost always eat out, but together as much as possib,e

To e and DH we always wanted meal times to be sat together, eating and chatting together. So yes, I guess it is important to us and something we worked round to make sure it could happen. Have had similar routine since DD was a baby - she is now 6.

Agree with Hula TURN OFF THE TV!That is a rule in our house too.

nh - I hd thi concversation with Dh just recenty. Our dining room was int he living room - it is a argish L shaped room so fit ok. But we ended up having the TV on as Dh caught up with the news. So, I moved the table downstairs to the garden room and made it into a dining room - and no TV. So much better!

Breakfast is a bit rubbish round here - DD eats with whichever of us comes downstairs with her, on the sofa, television on. We're going to change this a month or two before she starts school as she tends to get zoned out and forget to eat, so it's not very efficent (and tends to lead to milk on the sofa cushions).

Lunch is almost always eaten at the table, DD and me Mondays and Fridays (I work Tuesday to Thursday), all three of us Saturday and Sunday. We quite often have lunch out one day at the weekend, so obviously that's at a table somewhere.

Dinner/tea is ALWAYS at the table. We all eat together Friday through to Monday, some time between 5.15 and 6 depending on how organised I am and when DH gets home from work. Tuesday to Thursday DD has cooked lunch and rather ludicrously early tea at nursery, so just snacks when she gets home. DH and I eat after she'd gone to bed - unfortunately I do the last bit of the bedtime routine (stories) AND am sole cook, so we eat rather late those days (sometimes after 9). We do tend to watch television because of the time, otherwise we miss things we'd otherwise watch.

Not sure what we'll do once DD starts school. It will depend on whether she has cooked or packed lunch, in part. I'm not keen on her eating separately from us as she's an only child, so she'd be eating literally on her own, which is no fun.

We sort of eat breakfast together, but it's a fairly quick, sit down, eat, get up when you want to sort of meal, so at any one time perhaps 3-4 of the 5 of us will be at the table.

Lunch - everyone who is around. So weekdays it's usually my husband and myself, but not always. Weekends all of us unless one of the older two children have a 'social' activity arranged.

Tea - all of us about 90-95% of the time. The exceptions are when my husband isn't working from home and doesn't get back in time. Then I will eat with the children and he has his when he gets home. We've always done it that way, we felt (and still do) that it was best for the majority of the family to eat together.

Our DC are only little, but we always eat together for every meal.

brekkie is me & DS, normally nothing formal, lunch at the table me and him, dinner used to be on the dot at 5pm with XH around the table, now XH isn't here (obv) it's DS &I but still 5pm on the table.

I see it as family time for us to talk about our day - well did. still do with DS.