BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Eating For Toddlers => Topic started by: Melsy on October 01, 2008, 00:28:25 am
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Just wondering what time your little ones eat dinner and do you eat with them or later?? We have been doing family meal times at 6pm when DH gets home from work. Although the 8month old eats earlier than that. Just wondering what happens in your house??
Mel
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We eat dinner at 5pm everyday. Dh usually works 5 nights per week so for those 5 it is just me and the boys. Nowadays we talk about what E and B did as school that day. Then the other two nights dh is here so we all get to eat together
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While my dh does't work late, he gets home too late for the kids to eat - - even with feeding protein snacks. I feel like I am bad in the sense I don't sit down with them to eat. Instead, I am preparing the next course - - heating up vegetables, searching for something else good to eat, spoon feeding the baby.
In my defense, I feel like there is not tons of time between end of nap and dinner time to have everything 100% ready. Also, I would rather them play with dh when he gets home because there is about an hour or less time for him to spend with them.
One day, it will change. I know. I also believe I could and should do better.
I am interested to see what others say. I feel kind of alone in not eating with them.
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My DD eats around 5pm and is in bed by 7ish. DH usually gets home around 5:30/6pm so most of the time she doesn't eat with us. But about 2-3 times a week (often in the weekend) we sit down and eat dinner together which she absolutely loves. It is hard but I think even if you can manage it a couple of times a week its nice - for us this is often easier in the weekend.
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We eat dinner around 530-6 each night, after DH is home from work. Even if one of us isn't home, the other still sits down and eats dinner with the kids. I make as much of the meal ahead of time if possible...cutting stuff and putting it in the fridge, or using the crock pot. I try to only have a small bit of the meal left to prepare between nap and dinner time because that's always a chaotic time of day.
I don't usually eat lunch with them and I feel bad about that. I'm usually trying to get everyone's food on the table and fielding requests for more milk, a blue straw instead of yellow, etc in the short amount of time between Tyler getting home from school and Mackenzie taking her nap.
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Those that eat at 5pm with bedtime of 7pm - do you do more food before bed?? What about yourself personally?? I don't reckon I could eat dinner that early. :-\ I would want another "dinner" before I go to bed at like 10.30pm!!! ;D
Mel
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We all eat dinner around 6pm DH gets home from work at 5.30pm. On weekends if we have ppl over we feed kids at 5.30 - 6 and then we eat with guests at 7pm :)
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Dinner's at 4:30/5 pm and I usually eat with the kids. DH gets home after 6 and just plays with them until bedtime (7/7:30). Sometimes they will let him eat in peace if he's really hungry, otherwise he just eats after they sleep. One nights where I want to eat with dh, then I just grab a few bites with the kids first. It is the weekends that we eat as a family and dinner is still at 4:30/5 pm.
TBH, I don't think we will eat as a family on a daily basis if dh works at his current position. He's too much of a "reluctant" workaholic.
Those that eat at 5pm with bedtime of 7pm - do you do more food before bed?? What about yourself personally?? I don't reckon I could eat dinner that early. :-\ I would want another "dinner" before I go to bed at like 10.30pm!!! ;D
I usually don't eat a lot with the kids. I eat just enough to let them see that I am eating and then I start cleaning the kitchen while they keep eating. Both of mine get a cup of milk just before bed. Just to ease my mind that they are not going to bed hungry.
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Those that eat at 5pm with bedtime of 7pm - do you do more food before bed?? What about yourself personally?? I don't reckon I could eat dinner that early. :-\ I would want another "dinner" before I go to bed at like 10.30pm!!! ;D
If we eat with her we push it a bit later like 5:45ish. I love eating early as this is when I usually do most of my snacking before dinner, I definitely reckon it helps with my weight eating earlier, I will usually have a hot chocolate or something later though regardless of what time we eat. As for DD - she still gets milk just before bedtime.
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nwmm - I wanted to reply, just so that you wouldnt feel badly!!!
When we were a family of 4, we never ate together. The baby had to eat as soon as we were home, which was around 5:30. 6...
Nate would eat around 7 or so (he's a snacker, Mads isnt - she eats full meals, he snacks all day long)
I might eat dinner
dh would eat after the kids were in bed.
So. no honey, you are NOT alone!!! It is definately ideal to all eat together...and habits start young, but reality takes a place sometimes, and you do what is right for your family.
So, no guilt, ok?!! :-*
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Weekdays we get home ~6 & try to start eating before 6:30. Not ideal for the 7-7:15 bedtime we like. (Some nights late arrival home means bedtime gets pushed to more like 7:30 or 8.)
Weekends & other "off" days, I try to have dinner ready by 5:15-5:30. That works much better with the nighttime schedule that I like to have. This is what I'd like to do all the time, but as Tonya said, reality happens. :-\
Umm... No snacks before bed, but Isaac still gets either a short bf or sippy of milk at bedtime & James likes to take a sippy of water into his room.
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That is very sweet, Tonya. Thank you.
We do try to eat breakfast, on the weekends together. Or, at least one parent and our older one eat together. Weekend dinners the same.
I do know it will change, but you are right. I am doing what is right for us right now. Getting kids fed so they get the proper sleep. And, an hour or less chance to play with their Dad!!! ::)
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Girls eat at 5ish for their 700 bedtime. I eat with them. Sometimes, if he's really hungry, dh eats when he gets home, 630ish, but mostly he eats after girls are in bed. I sit with him most nights while he eats and have a big glass of milk. Mmm... To make up for the kids not having dad at dinner, we make an extra effort to have a real breakfast together. Eggs n stuff, every morning. Dh even makes it if we're running behind- he's that committed to breakfast! ;D
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the girls eat at 5-5:30 depending on how hungry they are (if they start asking about dinner/eating by 4pm i know it will be early) and then have a snack/dessert/fruit between 6:30-7:30 and bedtime is 8. i will sometimes have a snack with them at their dinner otherwise they just eat. dh and i eat dinner around 8 or 8:30 since he usually gets home between 7:30-8pm except for the odd 6-7pm night (he works long hours). on weekends we eat together at least 1 of the 2 nights and then we do it around 5:30-6pm (usually a BBQ on our deck) and dh and i will have a little something later on if still hungry (like yogurt and meusli or fruit and chocolate LOL).
i wish we had weekday dinners like i grew up with (6pm like clockwork) but i don't see that ever happening for dh with any consistency or predictability. scared me to death when he walked in last night at 6 because he had not warned me he was coming home early to view a property at 6:30 - seriously scared me it is that rare to hear a key in the lock at 6.
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Dh's schedule varies from day to day so when he is going to be home we have dinner between 5:30 and 6. If he isnt home I eat with the kiddies...or we take the opportunity do visit my parents and grandmother...we visit them once a week so there are two days I dont have to cook and there is always a "family style" dinner...with good food. So there is usually one day out of the week its just the three of us...which is nice...we usually have breakfast for dinner.
I love dinner time and feel it is a great opportunity to "be" together as a family. One of my cherished memories is getting to spend time with my family at the dinner table.
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I try to do dinner together at 6 everyday but to be honest, it often doesn't happen and I am ok with that knowing that it's just our reality with dh and i having full-time schedules. Sometimes I can't get it together to have everything organized for our dinner too, but when that happens, one of us always sits with ds so he doesn't eat alone.
We have friends over for dinner about 1x per week and I try to schedule them to come round at 5.30 so we can all eat together at 6 and luke can enjoy those dinners too.
Melsy, if we ate at 5 I would be so hungry later but 6 is usually ok. My internal hunger clock has totally adjusted so that now I can't even wait until 8, which is when dh and i used to eat. If I do get hungry i have a light snack like carrot sticks, and apple, pretzel sticks, etc in the evening. I guess it depends on your bedtime though, i try to make mine around 10 in bed to read/10.30 lights off so dinner at 6 is perfect.
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Dinner for our children is 4.30pm. My husband is not home at this time monday to thursday but I sit with them and have a light snack. Then when dh comes home at around 5.30pm he gets to play with the children for a bit. They have supper at 6.15pm, then get them ready for bed by 6.30pm and have stories in bed. At weekends we all eat together at 4.30pm, then myself and dh will have a snack when children are in bed.
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Mine do have a snack at 7 before their bath but it is usually a small one. So dinner at 5 and then snack at 7 ;D
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Tonya's right. It's nice and all to be able to eat together as a family every night but reality doesn't allow it to be. At least for now. Some of my mom friends do have family meals together every night but their children goes to bed at 9/10 pm.
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I would love for us to all eat together, but it's just not possible right now and I'm okay with that. My boys are early risers so everything is early....breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They eat dinner around 4:30-5:00 and then snack around 6:30-7:00. If they eat a good dinner, they get a small snack and if they didn't eat well I may offer some cinnamon toast and fruit or oatmeal. I do eat early with them and find it works out well for me. Sometimes I'll have a snack in the evening when the kids are in bed while DH eats dinner.
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Wow thanks for all your responses guys!!! I think I will happily stick with the 6pm dinner time - it seems to be going ok! He has his bath before dinner so that he can still be in bed for 7pm. I tried a 5pm dinner the other night with a snack at 6.30pm and he thought I was nuts!!! ;D I was trialling that to see if we could "tank him up" a bit before bed to reduce our 5am wakings ( ::) ) but it didn't help. I love hearing what everyone else does though!!
Mel
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I had high hopes that a evening snack would help with early wakings too. No such luck! ::)
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DH works afternoon shift (2 pm - 10 pm), so he is rarely home for dinner during the week. Sometimes he can sneak home and we all eat together. Regardless, Ella and I eat together at 5:30 pm during the week and we all eat as a family at that time on the weekends. I try to cook a full meal as much as possible, but sometimes when it's just Ella and I and we feel more like pancakes, we will have that instead. After dinner (which usually ends at 6/6:15) it's right up to the tub and getting Ella ready for bed because she goes down at 7 pm. She does not eat anything between dinner and bed, I usually have a light snack sometime in the evening before I go to bed at 10:00ish.
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I agree Stacy. Mealtimes are important in our house and no one eats alone. Ella gets some choices with breakfast and lunch and once and a while dinner, but the meal is the meal and there are not second options. There is no option of leaving her seat until everyone is done. Because we started this from the beginning, mealtimes are nice and relaxing for the most part and a time to connect and enjoy each other. Thankfully, we can take Ella to restaurants and she behaves. Tonight it was just Ella and I and we had oatmeal with bananas, yogurt, and milk for dinner. She gobbled it up!
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Marking my spot x
will be back tomorrow :)
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I am the worst. We don't eat any meals together. We are between living situations so we have the bare minimum here and the rest in storage. Simply wasn't enough room for our dining table. I know its just an excuse. When we get settled again the end of this month I would like to eat dinner with Vee around 6pm. And on the weekend have the whole family sit and eat together.
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Supper is at 6 PM
Mon/Wed DH and Nick eat together while I'm working
Tu/Thur/Fri we all eat together as long as I'm home in time...
(we work opposite shifts to avoid daycare- I'm only PT, but it's hard)
Sa/Su we are together all day- hooray!!!
No snacks, maybe some milk before bed, but Nick usually eats very well at supper.
If I miss supper time, I don't usually get to eat until 9 PM.
Bedtime is at 8-8:30 if we're lucky...
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dh goes to work before 6:30 most mornings, so we don't have a breakfast together with him and although i sit with the kids at breakfast, I usually eat something on the go after they are fed, changed and dressed and breakfast is cleaned up. the 3 of us also always sit to lunch together, and dh is home msot nights by 5 and we sit to dinner all together. we try really hard not to eat too much after dinner before our own bed, but some nights we do need a snack. kids don't eat again before 7pm bed, so they go quite a stretch (willingly) from 5:30 dinner to 7:30-8ish breakfast.
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well, i have to say i have been having mommy guilt about this very subject. i decided today that from now on we would all eat together. ds eats at 545 and goes to bed at 7 ish. i hate cooking while he is up and driving me crazy in the kitchen, but i was feeling bad about that. so, i went to the store and spent hard earned money to make a humungo batch of vegi chile. and i prepped and cooked this afternoon only to burn it and ruin the entire batch. and as stupid as it sounds, i have been crying for the past hour over it. :(
so, we may just be going back to the original routine.
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Everynight we eat dinner together at 5.30/45pm when DH gets home except Wednesday when girls have swimming so the girls eat at 5pm and DH and i eat after swimming. I find the girls eat alot better when we all eat together.
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thanks stacy! yes, the crock pot will now be the only way to make chilli. live and learn!
yes, your suggestion sounds great. i should get him more invloved, he would probably love it as toddlers love to feel important and like great helpers! thanks again.
p.s the damn pot is still soaking, it may be ruined! but, dh made me a nice strong last night to take away the emotional pain caused by the chilli.
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Well, eating and eating all together is a BIG thing here in Greece! Their life revolves around food and the next meal :P
I cook our main meal at lunch time, so DS and I eat at 1.30 ish - always together. (I think it stems from when I was weaning (main meal was at lunch time) and the fact that eating your main meal earlier is better for digestion ;)
DH eats with DS at tea time - they have a snack/ light meal and a drink of milk.
We only get to eat all together as a family at weekends ::)
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I eat with the children at 5pm we always have sat down and eaten together. DH eats when he gets in from work on his own. At weekends we all sit down together and eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love eating with my LO's as it is a time for them to chat and catch up with me on the sort of day they have had at school and any other news. It is the only time we are not distracted by TV, books and playing games.
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Dinner is on the table here at 6pm and if dh is not home his goes in the oven to keep warm. I always wanted us to eat as a family and am lucky that dh can get home 90% of the time for 6. Ryan goes to bed at 7.30 so we eat, have a relax (mainly so dh and Ryan can have some time together) then upstairs for bath at 7. When he was younger he ate earlier and we ate after he had gone to bed. We also eat after him on the days he has been at nursery as he has a cooked meal there.
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Right when I walk through the door about 5:30 from picking up my DD from daycare, she is asking for dinner. So I have to feed her then and DH gets home by 6:15. She is in bed by 7pm and then DH and I eat around 7:30. We try to eat dinner together on the weekends, but she is hungry around 5pm.
I have always wanted to do family dinners in my household but due to time restraints it may be something that goes into effect when the children get older.....and eat a bit later. ;)
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We eat as a family at 5-5:15ish. During DH's coaching season when he's home later, DD and I still eat at the same time and he eats later. I am starving by 5!!!
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we eat between 5 and 5.30pm ish.....if DP is home by then, he eats too, if not i keep it warm for him .
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our main meal of the day is lunch, we all sit at dinning table. For us, dinner is much more like a snack and everyone eats at different hours because we get home at differente hours as well.