What time do your kids eat dinner? Do u family mealtime?

[Melsy]

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

[Lana]

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

[nwmm]

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.

[enna77]

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.

[tylersmommy]

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.

[Melsy]

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!!!   

Mel

[Katie]

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

[lilmonkey]

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!!!  

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.

[enna77]

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!!!   

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.

[Tonya]

 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?!!

[clh]

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. 

[nwmm]

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!!! 

[bzerk5]

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!   

[Deb_in_oz]

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.

[aidliz]

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.