Do you eat meals at a "traditional" table?

[lcelmer]

We eat at the table, along with all the Home school piles of things to be prepped, graded etc.... :-D

[Susan in TN]

Yes - we eat every meal (and most snacks) at a 7.5 foot "farmhouse" table. Love it.

 

When I was growing up, we ate at a "kitchen dinette". We had a formal dining room but only used that when we had guests or on holidays. We don't have a separate dining room in our current house.

[Heathermomster]

We eat on a kitchen farmhouse table that we bought a year after we were married. It's 20 + years old and looking worn out.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

I haven't read all the responses, but we eat at the table probably 75% of the time. The rest of the time we will do picnics in the living room for one reason or another.

 

I grew up eating mainly at the kitchen table, but occasionally in the living room.

[Tap]

Either the dining room tablet or the kitchen counter/breakfast bar. If the table is clear we usually eat there. It often has a project/books or tea set for teddy bears though.

[Dustybug]

We eat at the table, along with all the Home school piles of things to be prepped, graded etc.... :-D

 

 

This is us too.

[jenL]

We eat at a real table. On the weekends, dh and I may sit on the couch to browse on our laptops while eating a bowl of cereal, but it doesn't occur very often.

[Ester Maria]

Yes, though we do not necessarily eat all at the same time.

[ScoutTN]

A regular table for us.

 

My sister and I ate in tray in front of the tv a lot as kids. Single parent home.

[I.Dup.]

oops, lol, wrong thread.

[Ruby Rose]

Dining table for us 90% of the time. We have an occasional snack or pizza on the cough.

[In the Rain]

We are together at the table for 99% of dinners.

[rieshy]

Dinner table- always. I love the conversations and spilt drinks. My husband and I both grew up that way, plus I have an aversion to cups and crumbs around the house.

 

Picture 7 kids eating wherever .... eek!

[StephanieZ]

We eat at the dining room table for all meals. (We don't have a kitchen table.)

 

Growing up, we ate at the kitchen table for routine meals, and the dining room table for holidays and/or large family meals.

 

In a prior house, we had a huge kitchen island, and I'd feed the kids lunch and/or breakfast there. If I had an island or kitchen table, I'm sure we'd use that for many meals.

[Running the race]

Traditional table now. Traditional table when I was a kid.

[raceNzanesmom]

We eat at the table 5-6 nights a week and all lunches. Breakfast is often at the coffee table for me and the youngest, the car for dh and the oldest.

[frugalmama]

We eat at a real table most of the time, but sometimes we eat in front of the TV or PC, or have a picnic on the floor.

[Joyofsixreboot]

We're table people.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

Real table for us.

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

Dinner table with everyone eating dinner at a set time (between 6 and 6:30 pm).

[Mommyfaithe]

Yes, traditional table. We even have set places around the table.

 

Us too....cuts back on fighting. Lol. We eat in the kitchen at a big farm style table. Breakfast and lunch are very non-formal:D....but, we usually have dinner together. Not fancy, just nice.

 

Snacks etc. are eaten wherever....as long as kids don't make a mess and clear out their own bowls and cups, I am ok with that.

 

Faithe

[GailV]

Real table, except for Friday movie nights which are often at TV tables in the family room with homemade pizza.

[Lainey]

Since there are only three of us, we eat at the kitchen counter. I have a full bar around the counter with stools, so it's easier to just eat there than at the table. This is the only house that we've had a bar like this, so at our other houses, we ate at the table.

[Amber in AUS]

We always eat at a real table, breakfast, lunch & dinner. I was brought up eating at a real table too :)

[Kelly1730]

Most dinners are all together at the kitchen table. The boys will eat at the breakfast bar for breakfast and lunch. When we have company we utilize the dining room also. And, of course, summer meals take place on the deck, as often as possible. I allow popcorn in front of the tv for a family movie, but that's it.

[Desert Rat]

Joules, don't feel bad! I wasn't going to post 'cause I felt like the only one! We eat breakfast and lunch at the table. After dh was laid off in 2010, we started eating dinner in front of the TV. Here's why: Dh was traumatize as a kid over how quickly he ate his food. A timer would be set. If the timer went off and the food wasn't gone, he got hit. (Yes. Hit.) The timer was set again. Same scenerio until the food was gone. Every. Single. Night.

So, he's carried this into adulthood. He knows it's wrong. He knows he shouldn't make our kids wolf it down. He knows that he doesn't want our kids to gobble their food like he does his. These are all good, intellectual arguements. We've had countless discussions over the years.

It still doesn't change the fact that it bugs him when they eat slowly. So, we eat in front of the TV. The kids get to take their time. Dh is distracted. I don't have to referree. Problem solved.

This is truly the only problem we have in our parenting styles. And I fixed it by compromising. And I don't feel badly about it.

[TammyinTN]

Absolutely 6 nights out of the week.

[kewb]

Most meals are at the dining room table. If we are not around the table mom was feeling lazy and we are eating while watching a movie in the living room.

 

Growing up all meals were at the kitchen or dining room table. It was a super rare treat that mom would make us a tv dinner to eat in the den.

[butterflymommy]

DH doesn't eat with us, neither does oldest DS. That leaves 6 girls and me. I am a health nut and the girls won't eat what I do (mostly fruits, veggies, whole grains). DH also won't eat what I do.

 

So-- DS cooks for himself, the same meal every meal, and eats by himself reading the paper. (100% his choice)

 

I generally eat whenever, not real meals but grazing, trying for as healthy as possible.

 

The girls are very picky and will only eat a handful of things. I always laugh when I see people talk about their kids having bread as an alternative to dinner. Bread IS their dinner. They basically just eat variations of bread with various toppings, sometimes fruit, fruit juice, or chicken.

 

The girls sometimes eat together and sometimes don't. We have a table that comfortably seats 5 kids plus two spots at a counter.

 

So it's pretty much random who is eating when and where. We have "dessert day" one day a week which is the only day anyone is allowed to bake a dessert, so no sugar/ sweets on other days. I'm strict about waste. Those are pretty much the only rules.

 

I feel sad when I see other families having real meals around the table but I gave up on that a long time ago to save my sanity. I cook food and leave it out for grazing.

 

I read a study a while ago that people who eat alone tend to eat less than in a couple or group-- this is supposedly one reason people gain weight once they're married. DH and I are skinny and I've often wondered if the fact that we don't eat together might be a reason. I wish he ate with me but gave up on that too a long time ago.

 

ETA, I grew up with strict family meals/ everyone at the table. I am a picky eater so this could be torture. I still don't understand why my parents tried to force me to eat all their disgusting foods!

Edited March 7, 2012 by butterflymommy

[phathui5]

Dining room table.

[JenniferLynn]

I grew up eating at the kitchen table. As an adult going back home, we eat at the dining room table.

 

Before kids, my husband & I sometimes ate at the dining room table, sometimes in front of the tv.

 

Once my oldest got into a high chair, we ate together at the kitchen table. After Christmas this year, with my youngest just over 3, we eat dinner in the dining room together. They like it and behave better there too.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

sometimes-not regularly--kiddo and me will sometimes...depends....dh usually eats in the recliner in my sewing room (seems to be the gathering room-it's where my computer is)--sometimes I'll eat at the computer :D lol--kiddo will eat downstairs sometimes where dh's computer is....just depends--grandpa usually eats in his room (for supper at least)-he will eat at a little folding table in front of the tv for breakfast/lunch usually......

[Momof3littles]

We use the kitchen table for pretty much every meal. My kids like sitting on stools at our peninsula, but the toddler likes climbing on the swivel stools, so they are currently out of the room.

 

We use our dining room maybe once or twice a month, mostly when entertaining. We would use it more often as a family, but PO had carpet in that room, and with three young kids that just isn't practical as an everyday thing,and we aren't ready to put hardwood in yet.