Dinner Hour

[Charger]

When eating at home, where do you dine? At the table? In front of the TV? We are empty nesters but when we have company or family is visiting we all eat together at the table. When its just hubby and me we usually fix a plate and sit in front of the television. (tho we usually do catch up with each other's day with a glass of wine on the patio before dinner). My daughters family rarely sits at the table to eat. Like most busy young families, they are always on the go. Just wondering if anyone sits down for family dinners anymore?

[charliemae]

DH and I are pretty much empty nesters, too! When my kids were home, we'd eat at the table. DH likes to eat in front of the tv, and that's okay with me when we don't have company. Sometimes I join him, but during the week he is sleeping at supper time because he works 3rd shift and gets up at 9:00 at night. If I am alone, I either eat at the table or the tv. If the Red Sox are playing, it's always in front of the tv. Can't miss my baseball game! When company is here, it is always at the table for meals.

[tanner413]

I very rarely have my family eat in front of the tv. I like for all of us to eat at the dinning room table and talk. I feel like if I put all this work into a nice dinner, I want to see everyones faces enjoying it and I want their company.

[Autumn Moon]

If it's just DH and me, we are in the living room. If his niece or my DD is over, we are still in the living room.
About the only time we eat at the table is when there are more than 3 of us eating. That's because someone would have to sit in the dog's space on the couch and she would stand there....not begging for food but wanting her regular spot.

We have a very small home so I usually have the sewing machine set up on the small table in our kitchen area.

[100792]

I grew up eating at the table and when I was first married we ate at the table. When DS was young we still ate at the table.

Since DS started school the table has become a storage space.

DS gets home between 3pm and 5 pm depending on if he had sports practice after schoo. I get home around 4:30 if I come straight home. Today I had an appointment after work and did not get home until 8:30. I fix sandwich for me, and DS if he has not already had dinner. Then usually around 5:30 we have to leave for another sporting event or practice.

DH gets home usually after 6 and will either meet us at sporting event or come home. He then makes his own meal. DH travels a lot for work and is usually gone 2-3 days a week.

When DS and I get home it is usually homework and light meal and then off to bed for him.

I would love to go back to eating at the table, but at this time with the schedules we hold that just is not possible.

[ofgrace]

We regularly eat at the table with a pretty usual dinner time too. Of course sometimes its earlier or later depending on the days events. We rarely use our dining room and eat most all of our meals at the kitchen table. It is a very casual gathering for our family. We eat and chat about the day. This is something both my hubby and I feel stongly about since it helps to give us a since of unity as a family. I grew up without sitting at the table and ate whenever and whereever since my parents were divorced and mom was either working or going to school. I feel very blessed to be able to provide a mealtime for my family and to spend time together.

Funny story, several years back when my sons were younger we had one of their friends over to spend then night. When it was time for dinner the young boy came to the table to sit and while were having dinner he kept getting up while he was talking and eating and circling the table. I would kindly ask him to sit down while we were eating and he would laugh, "oh yeah" and sit down but then would get up again and start circling the table, mostly when we were all talking. It was so funny because he didn't realize he was doing it. Because he was a very active boy I just thought maybe he was a little hyper. After speaking with my friend his mother we realized it was because of the way they eat at dinner time. She said she and her husband always sit at the table and the kids sat at the bar all in the kitchen and like us they would chat and carry on. She realized that because of the distance between them he would often get off the stool and walk over to the table and talk but not sit there since his food was at the bar so he would go back and forth. She never thought much of it, why should she, until he came to our house and circled the table. He was just doing what he usually does. It was so funny for both of us to catch a glimpse of conditioned behavior. Ever since then we can always tell who is and is not used to eating at the table and we try to make them as comfortable as possible. I'd say about half of our sons friends probably are not used to sitting at the table. This is a good question!

[Mykhal Jaems]

I grew up in a family where eating meals together at the table was a nightly ritual.

DH & I sometimes eat at the table. Mostly it's a place for the microwave, fresh fruit and the mail.

When we eat together we sit in the living room and watch TV. Usually we eat in front of our computers, him in his "office" (more like his play room) and me in front of mine in the dining room (yet another use for the room, it has it's own table though.)

If we ever were to have children (we won't but if we were to) I would insist on supper being a family affair at the dining room table.

[YellowRoseTex]

We use to eat at the kitchen table, but somehow we've gravitated to the living room, in front of the TV. We have a coffee table that lifts up, so it's like eating at a table. Dh usually gets home late during the week, I will heat him something up and will sit with him, chat and watch some TV.

I like to eat at the kitchen table on the weekends when I make a nicer meal, but dh has been requesting the coffee table thing. Not sure how this habit started, but as long as we're together it's okay.

[CocoinTX]

We are empty nesters too. We have a large eating bar area off our island in the kitchen. We eat there instead of the table. When it's the two of us, we can pretty much see the TV from there. We have a very open living space. When the kids are home, they want to all eat at the bar also.

[clogaholic]

I hardly ever eat in the living room , don't watch much tv. My DH and I usually eat at the table, times can vary depending on when he gets home from work.
My DD loves tv and often eats using a tv tray that lives in front of her.