S/O of my own 'table' thread

[Audrey]

LOL! Maybe this wasn't the group to ask as the vast majority who answered my other thread about "does your family eat at a traditional table?" said yes.

 

I have noticed a lot of commercials lately that show families eating in the living room, at tv trays, at coffee tables, etc. I was wondering how much the norm that was for the advertisers to pick it to represent their products.

 

I wonder, though, if our group here, which is largely family-centric, may be different from what is now the norm in family eating arrangements. Do you think that is possibly true? Do you think that homeschooling leads to cultivating a more family-centric lifestyle than the majority of non-homeschoolers? Do you know a lot of people who are not hs'ers who don't eat at a traditional table? Hard to know, I know! LOL! I tried to think of people I know, and realized that I have no idea where most of them eat their meals.

 

I'm just thinking out loud here. Any thoughts to add? :bigear:

[WishboneDawn]

We don't eat at a table. My SIL and a favourite friend both send their kids to PS and are extremely family-centric and eat at the table. Not sure about the rest of the people I know.

[Ginevra]

Well, I do think homeschoolers are more likely to eat a unified dinner around the table, just as I think hsers are more likely to be health-conscious about meals than average.

 

But, even among my wider acquaintances, I know of several families of non-hsers who either eat the majority of dinners that way, or at least feel guilty; think they should, though they aren't.

 

I haven't noticed the trend in TV ads that you speak of, but I don't watch much tv anyhow. The tv ads about dinner that spring to mind are of convenience foods that purportedly get the family around the table for dinner, i.e, family-sized Lasagnas or Hamburger Helper.

[Audrey]

Well, I do think homeschoolers are more likely to eat a unified dinner around the table, just as I think hsers are more likely to be health-conscious about meals than average.

 

But, even among my wider acquaintances, I know of several families of non-hsers who either eat the majority of dinners that way, or at least feel guilty; think they should, though they aren't.

 

I haven't noticed the trend in TV ads that you speak of, but I don't watch much tv anyhow. The tv ads about dinner that spring to mind are of convenience foods that purportedly get the family around the table for dinner, i.e, family-sized Lasagnas or Hamburger Helper.

 

 

One of the ones I'm thinking of is a KFC commercial where the family is sitting around the coffee table eating and the girl goes to turn off her cell phone which is buzzing. The gist of the ad seems to be that KFC brings everyone together (around the coffee table, I guess).

 

Another one is a KD commercial that has mom sitting down on the couch with a bowl after giving bowls to a couple of kids. Now, that one... I'm not sure if that's supposed to represent a meal or a snack. The enormous portions in the bowls indicates "meal" to me, but then I could be wrong.

 

There are a couple more, but those stood out to me.

[Puma Mom]

Off the top of my head, of the non-homeschooling people whose dinner habits I know,

 

6 families sit down at a table together

1 family eats on couches in front of the TV

[elegantlion]

Before ds we were more apt to eat in the living room. Now, we have a connected dining room/living room, so if we're watching TV we can still eat at the table. But we're not huge TV watchers anymore.

 

As a kid my dad worked second shift, so we had casual dinners a lot more. Granted he worked at a TV station, so TV was part of our family life. We had TV trays.

 

Most people I know eat dinner at the table, together, unless they have kids activities.

[simka2]

We are often getting home late from the horses (I do not wnt to go out earlier in the heat), so then we will sit on the couch and the kids will sit around a coffee table. We then veg watching Wipeout together.

 

Tonight, I did the horses early so we will be at a table.

 

I would say right now it is 60/40 couch/table.

[DarlaS]

Do you think that homeschooling leads to cultivating a more family-centric lifestyle than the majority of non-homeschoolers?

 

Perhaps the reverse is true and those that are more family-centric may be more likely to homeschool.

[Tarreymere]

Well, we have always had dinner around a family table even before I had heard of homeschooling. Maybe more family-centric people are more likely to choose homeschooling........who knows?

 

Wow, the poster above posted while I had my reply window open and was procrastinating........talk about great minds......:)

[Renee in NC]

We don't eat at the table because we don't have enough chairs and there isn't really enough room in the kitchen. We do all eat together, though, Japanese-style around the coffee table in the living room. We are *extremely* family-centric, so not sure how eating at the table or not affects that.;)

 

We're just not really traditional.

[Audrey]

Perhaps the reverse is true and those that are more family-centric may be more likely to homeschool.

 

Well, we have always had dinner around a family table even before I had heard of homeschooling. Maybe more family-centric people are more likely to choose homeschooling........who knows?

 

Wow, the poster above posted while I had my reply window open and was procrastinating........talk about great minds......:)

 

 

Good point... both of you. :001_smile:

 

I guess I'm just a little perplexed. I find advertising interesting and I know that they try to appeal to a 'standard' within their target group. I found it :confused: to see the families not eating around the table because that just isn't my experience at all. While I have eaten in front of the TV for a snack, I don't think it's ever occurred to me to have a meal like that. I have no judgment against anyone who does. It's just not my choice, KWIM? And, so... I was starting to think that maybe it was a rising trend for families being reflected in the ads.

 

At any rate, I am enjoying the discussion!

[Audrey]

We don't eat at the table because we don't have enough chairs and there isn't really enough room in the kitchen. We do all eat together, though, Japanese-style around the coffee table in the living room. We are *extremely* family-centric, so not sure how eating at the table or not affects that.;)

 

We're just not really traditional.

 

 

Oh, I don't begrudge anyone their place to eat. I am glad when families make a habit of dining together, no matter where they are doing it. It just isn't my personal experience to eat a meal anywhere but the dining/kitchen table.

 

I don't know if choice of place to eat says family-centric or not. This is an interesting discussion for me and I enjoy the input -- traditional or not. :001_smile:

[Renee in NC]

Oh, I don't begrudge anyone their place to eat. I am glad when families make a habit of dining together, no matter where they are doing it. It just isn't my personal experience to eat a meal anywhere but the dining/kitchen table.

 

I don't know if choice of place to eat says family-centric or not. This is an interesting discussion for me and I enjoy the input -- traditional or not. :001_smile:

 

I didn't think you were judging anyone Audrey - I just found it interesting that most posters seem to equate not eating at the table with not being family-centric. We eat together every single night - we're just not at a table with chairs.

 

Most people I know *do* eat at the table and I use to stress over the fact that we didn't (as if we were somehow "less than.") We aren't - we just have our own style.

[KristinaBreece]

Right now, DC & I eat meals at their Little Tikes table. Mom sits on the floor. DH is never home at meal times this time of year. Roofing and landscaping... Yeah. He's gone at least from dawn to dusk. When he's home he eats in his La-Z-Boy. Of course, his family never ate around a table-- they ate in front of the tv with trays on their laps. My family has always done family meals around the table. Right now, my littles just reach their own table better. Since they're in the majority, and they make smaller messes at a table their size, we just.... go with what works. :001_smile:

[KungFuPanda]

Maybe it's the people who cook who are more apt to eat around a table? We eat most meals at the kitchen or DR table, but if we order a pizza, half the time we eat it in front of a movie. We do have a Japanese table that we put on the floor for this so, technically we're still around the table. I think the movie negates that :glare:

 

My family can easily spend 90 minutes at the table because we talk, eat, and keep talking when the food is gone. If we have company this can go on for hours. I cook delicious food and I don't want people inhaling it in 10 minutes in front of the TV. Also, the logistics of plates, cutlery, drinks, etc make dining at the table easier. If I have a McBurger and a drink with a lid, it's EASY to couch-dine and my culinary sensibilities are not offended if my diners are distracted by Phineus and Ferb.

[FairyMom]

LOL! Maybe this wasn't the group to ask as the vast majority who answered my other thread about "does your family eat at a traditional table?" said yes.

 

I have noticed a lot of commercials lately that show families eating in the living room, at tv trays, at coffee tables, etc. I was wondering how much the norm that was for the advertisers to pick it to represent their products.

 

I wonder, though, if our group here, which is largely family-centric, may be different from what is now the norm in family eating arrangements. Do you think that is possibly true? Do you think that homeschooling leads to cultivating a more family-centric lifestyle than the majority of non-homeschoolers? Do you know a lot of people who are not hs'ers who don't eat at a traditional table? Hard to know, I know! LOL! I tried to think of people I know, and realized that I have no idea where most of them eat their meals.

 

I'm just thinking out loud here. Any thoughts to add? :bigear:

 

 

Good points, Audrey. I do think we, as homeschoolers, make that choice because we want to be family-centric; at least, that was my choice. It might lead to more deliberate time together, who knows. I have been very selective about my friends lately since I've turned 40, and most of them have my same values (family, honestly, love, tolerance). Those I tend to hang out with aren't concerned with appearances and, quite frankly, like their kids/spouse, etc.

 

I have a few friends who are couples without children (same-sex couples) and they still sit at the table as often as possible as a family, even though they obviously are not homeschoolers. Thinking out loud, too. I'm wondering if we, who value that in ourselves, naturally seek out others who value that as well.... :)

[KristinaBreece]

[snip]

 

My family can easily spend 90 minutes at the table because we talk, eat, and keep talking when the food is gone. If we have company this can go on for hours. I cook delicious food and I don't want people inhaling it in 10 minutes in front of the TV. [snip]

 

This reminds me of growing up with my grandparents. *Warm fuzzies*

[LibraryLover]

Oops double

Edited September 20, 2011 by LibraryLover

[AEC]

Do you think that homeschooling leads to cultivating a more family-centric lifestyle than the majority of non-homeschoolers?

 

absolutely, positively, and without a doubt. Speaking as a father and not the primary educator - it's one of my favorite parts.

 

It seems almost inevitable. We're simply HERE more. We're around each other more. We have kinda no choice but to plan our lives together.

[Liz CA]

I don't believe I've ever been in a house that folks didn't eat around a table. Hmmm... have to think about this...

 

There is something about a nicely set table when everyone gathers around.

[KungFuPanda]

You know, I think eating around a table promotes a healthy respect for food more than it enhances family closeness. You can spend time doing other things and have great relationships with one another. Not eating at he table seems more likely to distort how you feel about food. The attitude that you should grab something quickly and inhale it seems like one more aspect of the American diet. Taking time to prepare and savor real food is a quality of life issue that very often demands a table and some time.

[Joker]

I've never thought it had anything to do with homeschooling. I grew up eating at the table with the whole family and we weren't homeschooled and were busy. I've actually never really known those who mostly eat in front of the tv or on their own.

[LibraryLover]

We almost always eat together.

 

Although I'm not particularly wedded to what it should look like (Ozzie & Harriet is not my bag, man.)

Edited September 20, 2011 by LibraryLover

[happypamama]

I'm thinking that homeschooling may cultivate a more family-oriented lifestyle in general, and homeschoolers may be less likely to opt for lots of evening activities that would get in the way of family dinners, but I'm sure that's not true across the board. I do think that family-centric families are more likely to choose to homeschool, though, partly because they want their children to be more family-centric than peer-centric.

 

My family, when I was a teen, was very family-centric. The younger two children were homeschooled, my other brother played team sports, and I was involved in a million activities and college classes. There were a lot of nights that someone wasn't at the dinner table, or that someone was eating quickly in order to get ready to leave, but darn it, there was family dinner. At the table, every night. No TV in sight. (The rare pizza picnic aside, of course.) We could count on that. We could also count on Mom being home when we came home from school, and Dad almost always being there to help with homework (if he wasn't at an away game with my brother). But lots of hanging out with friends? Not really.

[Tap]

Well....LOL there are 4 families that I know the eating habit of (other than us) and it is a little bit of everything.

 

1 public school--eat around a table every night. In fact their dinners are usually well over an hour with chit chatting and laughter. Tight family.

 

1 public school--eat when ever and where ever. Together or not, doesn't matter. Not a tight family.

 

1 homeschool--I don't even think they own a dining room table...seriously LOL tight family, very family centric!

 

1 homeschool--They eat together but never at the table. Kitchen bar or with tv trays. Almost always with the TV on, watching it. Not a tight family, but there are 2 diabetics so meals are fairly regimented at their house.

[Laura Corin]

This report supports your suspicions (in the UK). It's from the Daily Mail, which loves to report the decay of society, but there may be some underlying facts.

 

Laura

[greenvneck]

We rarely eat as a family, simply because we are just too busy. There is not one single night where we are all at home during the dinner hour. Food is made, whoever is home eats it, either together at a table or not. The few times a month we are all, as a family, in the same place at the same time, we eat together, but I think that has happened twice this year. Honestly, I don't see how a family with older kids and/or large age differences maintain a family dinner, unless there are no outside commitments.

[Ginevra]

Good point... both of you. :001_smile:

 

I guess I'm just a little perplexed. I find advertising interesting and I know that they try to appeal to a 'standard' within their target group. I found it :confused: to see the families not eating around the table because that just isn't my experience at all. While I have eaten in front of the TV for a snack, I don't think it's ever occurred to me to have a meal like that. I have no judgment against anyone who does. It's just not my choice, KWIM? And, so... I was starting to think that maybe it was a rising trend for families being reflected in the ads.

 

At any rate, I am enjoying the discussion!

 

Audrey, I do think there is a demographic that the KFC ad speaks to. (I haven't seen the ad, though.) I do know people who rarely cook an actual meal, but they may still eat "as a family" in a fashion. Also, I think a lot of families do Family Movie Night or something similar, and for those nights, I would guess it's probably pretty common to buy food and eat it in the family room.