Do you eat your evening meal with your toddler?

[TotallyCommitted]

We have always given our 2 year olds her evening meal about 5pm then we eat a separate meal together once she's in bed. She won't eat anything we eat and won't really sit at a table for more than two minutes before running off to play so we have prioritised a nice relaxing dinner together each night - although it's creeping later these days.

Does anyone else do this? She's a fussy eater and I'm starting to think we should all eat together to try and improve her eating habits.

Yes, we've always done this with DD and she's 4 now. It made sense, as we all eat the same thing anyway. We eat around 5/5.30pm in the winter and 6/6.30pm in the summer.

It's more than about eating for us - we talk together and DD is very good now at dinner table chat, as well as using a knife and fork. Sometimes she does take ages, so one of us might tidy up and load the dishwasher while she finishes.

No. The thought of cooking again after dd is in bed is tto exhausting to contemplate! Once she's in bed I'm done!

My kids are teens but no I did not. We ate together for other meals though and on weekends. As they got older they joined the evening meal, but we didn't eat until 8.

We eat together every meal when toddler is home. She eats all meals at nursery though Tues-Fri but Sat-Mon we eat together and generally main meal at lunchtime unless we are out.
We might then have a light supper once she’s in bed if we are still hungry.

He always eats earlier as is in bed by 6. We eat after 6, as I like enjoying my dinner... he’s not a ‘happily sit at the table whilst you eat’ kind of guy and dinner is often the highlight of a long toddler wrangling day. We both work from home so it’s not really like we’re missing out on ‘family time’ as were always together.

Yes we sit down and eat as a family.

Never occurred to me not to, tbh. I grew up eating tea at 6ish when Daddy got in, and carried on eating at 6ish (unless something specific gets in the way of that - school concert or karate for example).

Presumably we'd have done things differently if we'd both been working ft, or if one of us had a very long commute. but we didn't have to deal with either of those situations.

Boys are 21 and 18 now and we still eat at 6:15 - must go and start thinking about the spaghetti soon...

If we can we always eat dinner together. I reckon we do so 5 nights out of 7. I think it’s important and I would rather we all ate at the table together slightly early than we didn’t eat together.

Honestly OP, if it suits you crack on. You could try changing it if you think it might help her eating habits, and switch back if you find it doesn’t and you preferred the old way. I have awful eaters and they were always compared to their cousins who were far ahead of them in terms of diet and table manners. Actually their natures are worlds apart which contributed a lot, and time has shown my children are very likely autistic, which quiets the tutting onlookers somewhat. You’ll find people doing all different things, with all different degrees of success (and who can tell whether the success determines the habit or visa versa) and with all different justifications, but ultimately your family and your child have their own groove and you should feel happy to try something different but equally to give it up if it doesn’t suit you

We don't eat dinner with our 20 month old OP. She has her dinner at childcare around 4.45. She has her bath at 6, bedtime at 7. We don't finish work early enough to have cooked dinner etc before 6:

I feel guilty about it because it feels like everyone else eats with their toddler, just feels like another stick to beat myself with!

Our circumstances are different as we foster and it is very important to us that we eat with the children we have with us even if they are toddlers so for us that means eating at about 5 every night.

We have to eat together otherwise he’ll eat all his food until he stops when full then I get my food and he’s all over that too! He wants to try absolutely everything and loves the most obscure tastes.

Yes we all eat together at 5.30.
It’s pretty tedious and we are hungry again by about 8.30 and end up eating junk but I was told loads of reasons about why it benefits the DC so suffer it.

We all sit as a family at the table usually around 6.30, it’s nice to all sit and chat about the day my DS6 and DS3 can be a bit wriggly but it doesn’t matter they are learning and it’s good practice for eating out and eating at other people homes.

No but we all have lunch together as other half wfh. Mine go to bed at 7 and we pretty much eat at 5 past. It's soooooo nice to eat in peace

We’ve always eaten together since weaning. I think it’s good modelling but I don’t always like eating at 5.30pm so might just have a very small portion, and then something else later.

Sometimes. We try to all eat together at least twice a week. The kids have their tea earlier when we're not hungry. DH gets home when they're ready to go to bed and I will usually eat with him.

Yes, we all eat together at 5:30pm and have done since she started weaning (now 21 months). We're lucky that our work schedules facilitate this early tea time.

I understand it doesn't suit some people but it's one of the few parenting things I was really sure about before we had children. We all eat the same food at the same time at the same table.

No because they need to eat so early. I think that's completely normal and there is plenty of time to learn table manners. My 12yo is fine even though he had his dinner earlier than us until he was about 4 or 5.

Sometimes. I eat breakfast with my toddler and lunch, and if it's just me and him I try to at least have a nibble on something light when he eats at 5 then will have proper dinner after he goes to bed. On a Sunday we eat a family dinner.

My son is 2.5 and up to last week I'd give him his dinner at 5.30pm, he goes to bed at 6.30pm, and we'd have dinner at 6.45/7. However his eating seems to be getting worse, not better so from this week we're eating together at 5.30, same meal for everyone.

Out of 4 days, 3 have been good, 1 was awful. It won't work once my husband is back working in the office, but we're trying to give it a good go now.

We just eat with the children (3 and 1), we like eating early anyway and it's only one lot of clearing up to do that way.

My husband is home from work after the children's bed time about 3 times a week though. I leave a plate for him in the fridge most of the time but every now and again I eat my tea with him after children's bed time. Usually if we want a takeaway or something the children don't like. We do that less than once a week.

No - DS eats about 5.30 and DH doesn't finish work till 6.30/7pm. I eat breakfast and lunch with DS every day (when he's not at nursery) and always sit with him while he eats dinner - I usually have a cup of tea at the same time. Selfishly after a day of children wrangling I'd rather eat with my husband!

I'd love to do this but will be heading back to the office soon, and won't be home til 6-6.30. DS will go back to having dinner with the childminder. A lot of people don't have the luxury of all eating together - although I much prefer dinner at 7.30 when DS is asleep and we can eat in peace!

No it’s much too early for me and I find that I don’t really get to enjoy my food. I eat lunch and breakfast with my DC bit I’d rather eat later and in peace.