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Original poster

Do you eat at the table ????

53 replies

nutcracker · 13/02/2004 17:49

Do you and your kids all eat at the dining table together ??
We have a dining table but no room for us all to eat at it, so at the mo just the two dd's sit there and me and dp sit on the sofa and eat off our laps. I have discovered that Argos do a little table and chairs set that you screw to the wall. The table can be folded down and the chairs fold up too so would save alot of space. I don't mind geting rid of the dinning table as it is passed it's best and i would be buying a new one when we move anyway. The only thing is, that the fold up one would be in the kitchen, meaning that the kids would bve eating in there on their own.
Any way, what would you do ???

OP posts:
suedonim · 13/02/2004 23:03

We always eat at the table, eating on laps is too awkward and messy for us. Most houses we've lived in have had room for a kitchen table. We've managed to get eight round ours, at a pinch!! We have a big, clutter-filled dining room we use about twice a year - I cleared away some bits and pieces from Xmas yesterday.

Kayleigh · 14/02/2004 09:18

Ds1 and ds2 always eat at the table. At the weekends we all eat lunch and our evening meal together. But on weeknights dh and I eat when they have gone to bed as dh doesn't get home till around 8:00pm and we usually eat on our laps in front of the telly.

beetroot · 14/02/2004 09:26

This reply has been deleted

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HiddenSpirit · 14/02/2004 09:32

I would love for us all to sit at dining table here to eat, but unfortunately we have no room for a table

DS1 & DD have their own little table & chairs set and DS2 is in his high chair. We sit on settee to eat ours.

When we eventually get a bigger place I want a table that we can all sit at and hopefully that will stop DS1 & DD acting up like they do at their own table.

Mummysurfer · 14/02/2004 09:38

Once DD & DS are in bed we too like to relax on the sofa with a glass of wine. But we still eat food at the table first with everyone.
I don't see the connection, Alhoa.

Zerub · 14/02/2004 09:41

No room for a table in our kitchen. We have one in a conservatory but it isn't usable in the winter. DH and I eat on our laps on the sofa. DD has a little table and chair next to the sofa, with a big plastic mat underneath. We only eat all together at the weekends (dh not there otherwise).

I have the tv on a lot during meals, cos dd actually eats her food then (instead of getting bored and having a tantrum after one mouthful). Will hopefully change when she gets a bit older and can talk (as in, we'll might be able to chat during meals, rather than mummy inanely wittering on by herself in effort to keep dd amused).

SoupDragon · 14/02/2004 10:34

I can't see our table underneath all the accumulated c**p.

Slink · 14/02/2004 10:36

Nutty on the floor why?? well custom i think we did as children as we are all meant to eat from the same plate, saves on washing up, however we have separate plates in ourhouse.

Slink · 14/02/2004 10:37

Nutty on the floor why?? well custom i think we did as children as we are all meant to eat from the same plate, saves on washing up, however we have separate plates in ourhouse.

handlemecarefully · 14/02/2004 12:13

We eat at the table because my husband slops food all down his front if he attempts a 'tv dinner', never mind dd!

GenT · 14/02/2004 12:39

I don't think our house can get any smaller than 4 rooms, wish it was a bigger kitchen, what can you expect from a terraced house? I don't think the kitchen is big enough for a kitchen but it has all the essentials which is important.

But we have a little table that both ends can be folded down to make it smaller and we eat there. DD eats with us, pull her up while she sits in her carseat, she likes it and we all have supper. Will have to upgrade to a high chair soon.

Try a table that you can push against a wall when you aren't using it for dining, and perhaps take out a leaf or two, or sides down when the large table isn't needed.

How many would actually be sitting at this table? Got the idea from another thread it is more than 4 or 5.

GenT · 14/02/2004 12:40

Slink is that an oriental custom? I am curious.

Original poster
nutcracker · 14/02/2004 12:42

There would only be my 2 dd's sitting at it as we don't have room for us all to sit around any table. The table we have at the mo seats 4 but we can't pull it out enough for us all to get round it. The one i want to get is fixed to the wall and folds down when not in use. It only seats 2.

OP posts:
GenT · 14/02/2004 12:53

Would you be able to get a long(ish) table that you could have a padded bench underneath and pull it away from the wall when you need it? So when not in use at least 3 or 2 can still sit at it?

Our table is only 24" by 36" and can seat 4 for dinner if need be. Probably one a bit longer would work for you.

Original poster
nutcracker · 14/02/2004 12:56

Well i'm not sure, will have to check that out. Just desperate for more space at the mo (hence the folding table idea)

OP posts:
Slink · 14/02/2004 13:24

GEN T it is an Asian think..... they do it in Saudi and Pakistan and places until they all come out say no no we sit at a table, we just always done it that way, when friends come over we have tables but just for us no no.

Toria · 14/02/2004 14:19

We sit at the table in the kitchen and in the dining room on speacial occations like Christmas etc. I find that my son(3 Years) eats alot more when sat at the table with his Daddy and me as he sees us eating also. :-)

Linnet · 14/02/2004 23:17

WE don't have room in our house anywhere for a table to be there all the time. Dd eats her meals at her little table and chairs that she got years ago, but she is starting to get a bit big for them now. Dh and I eat with our plates on our knee.

At christmas and New Year we all eat at the table. We do actually have one you see it has sides that drop down and is covered with a lovely scarf and fits in our hall perfectly between two rooms and the phone sits on it. But we only use it at Christmas and New Year.

GenT · 15/02/2004 00:09

with the padded bench idea, it could be like a blanket box(storage inside for toys or whatever), with a cushion on top.

bobthebaby · 15/02/2004 01:13

We eat at the table when ds can see us. If he's gone to bed we eat wherever we like. I can see I am not one of these mums who is going to let their child run around eating biscuits. I don't like eating in front of the TV, I think I overeat if I do this.

Tortington · 15/02/2004 09:35

we eat at the table because we can talk about the day. each child gets the opportunity to say what he/she did at school and moan and groan about friends and boyfriends and SATS etc. before we had a table we usedto have picnics on the floor - just for the same idea of all being in the same room and talking about our days. yes the table looks like the dog and her friends had a party on it, the chairs accumilate clean clothes waiting to be taken upstairs, it becomes an easy dumping ground for all the crap. but i love being able to look at my family in its entirity each night talking to each other about the issues of the day - for 45 mins or so before they all sod off to their mates house or playstation or to put music on full blast!

i think its a bit bob to leave kids to eat on their own, it seperates them from the adults

jac34 · 15/02/2004 09:57

We always sit at the table together,in the dinning,room which is next to the kitchen. You have to walk through there to get to the kitchen, so it gets used all the time.
It's a big round one that sits 6, but can fit 8 at a push.It holds alot of memories for DH, as it's the one from his family home, he and his 5 brothers and sisters used to sit at it together,now we sit at it every meal time. The kids use it to paint,draw,do their home work, etc. and when visitors come, we always end up sitting around it with tea/coffee, or in the evening a bottle of wine.
My MIL gave it to us, together with a matching dresser, when she sold up and moved abroad.Our dinning room really is the centre of our family life, I think if we used our front room as a dinning room,it just wouldn't get used, I hate the idea of the dinning room being kept for "best".

wilbur · 16/02/2004 16:25

That's lovely jac34, having your dh's old table. I agree about the "centre of the house" thing. I've just inherited our family kitchen table which is still going strong after 30 years, it's even got some bits of chewing gum stuck to the underside that my sis and I left there sometime in the 70s. We are just getting into eating together as a family at the weekend, but ds and dd are still little so eat at tea time in the evenings and dh and I mostly eat on our laps after they have gone to bed.

Beccarollover · 17/02/2004 07:54

We dont have enough room for a table - we have a very small breakfast bar in the kitchen and a tiny table that DD sits at to eat - its one of the worst things about living in a small house, really annoys me we are missing out on family meal times as I think they are great opportunit to teach manners and have family time

FairyMum · 17/02/2004 08:11

Yes, we eat at the table. I think it's really important family-time and I know I treasured those times as a child myself.