Where does your toddler eat if they eat early?

[milkyman]

My 2.5 ds goes to bed at 6.30 and eats anytime between 4 to 5. Too early for me as dh gets home at 6.30. He used to sit in kitchen on highchair but now likes a little table in the lounge with the TV on... is this ok do you think or am i a terrible mother? Otherwise mealtimez were becomig tears and tantrums. Now he calmly and happily eats all his tea.

This is exactly what Ds does for his tea... When we all eat together we eat at the table, when it's just him eating he eats at his little table with CBeebies on. I choose not to worry about it, he eats beautifully at the table at nursery/in restaurants etc so as far as I'm concerned-no problem!

When the weather's nice we eat outside. Otherwise at the table but we're not strict. Occasionally in front of the tv which my mum thinks is awful, but I don't want there to be too many rules around food.

Mine eat at the table in the dining room whether they eat with us or not. The difference is though that there are two of them and they chat and laugh together whilst they're eating. I think that meals ought to be fun, interesting and social occasions and can imagine that the thought of eating alone, sat at a big table in a quiet room, would be quite a miserable affair and that, under those conditions, the majority of people would choose to eat in the living room instead.
As with most aspects of parenting, I'd say don't sweat it; like you say, at least he's happily eating and that's half the battle in most cases. There is plenty of time to teach him good table manners in the future - he'll probably pick a lot of them up whilst eating with you at weekends and when eating with his friends when he gets to school.

At the table on her booster seat. I sit with her and chat etc.

If my dc are the only ones eating then they eat at their little table in front of the tele. I don't worry as we all eat together at the dining room table at least twice a week and they eat nicely in restaurants etc.
I also find they are less fussy if they eat whilst watching the tele as it takes the focus off the food.

You have to go smoothly over your rough ground - if that's what works for you then go for it. My auntie, who was a young mother of 4, once told me to "put something tasty in a bowl and put them in front of the telly" and even though I don't actually do it that often, I have been known to put the iPad on the dining table in front of my son and swipe through a thousand pictures of JCBs on Google Images in an attempt to ensure a tear-free mealtime.