Meal time poll: After DC is done eating...

April37

do you let DC leave the table or have him/her sit until everyone is done eating? 

We let DD leave the table if she's done eating before we are.  Just wondering what everyone else does.  DH and I were just talking about how we literally never go out to eat anymore because DD is so used to getting up when she's done eating.  There's no way we could get her to stay at a table in a restaurant long enough to order/wait for our food/eat, etc. 

brightning

At home, when she's done, she gets down. But she does fine at a restaurant - there's so many other distractions that she's usually OK until the end. Try it, she may surprise you!

kari582

Yeah, we make her sit and wait until we are done...that being said, my DD is a pokey eater, so we're usually done before she is.  But it goes the other way around- we sit with her until she is done eating.

Stacyc625

for me- we all eat together and no one leaves the table until we are all done. however that is just how i grew up.

lucylea

We all stay at the table until everyone is done.  I grew up eating on the couch in front of the TV and wanted a more "family oriented" dinner time for DD. 

JDCSKF

We try and make her stay in her seat until we are done, but then she always claims she has to go to the bathroom. Once she is down, she is down for good, so I make her sit in her corner (which is next to the table) until we are done.

jnksmom

DS sits at the table until we are all done but most of the time we are finished before he is so we sit at the table until he is finished.

annak23

DD wants to get up when she is done. I have tried to make her sit, but she will either start yelling or attempt to get down by herself.  It's just too much of a struggle for us. As long as she is done eating & knows there is no more snacking (if she hasn't finished eating), then I am fine with it. At a restaurant, her plate comes when the rest of ours does & there is too much to distract her from actually finishing her plate (she is a pokey eater), so it hasn't been an issue yet.

cp760

I want my kids to stay until everyone is done.... but it's my fault that we don't stick to it. Some days, by time dinner is on the table, I'm just too tired to stick to my guns and I let them run off so that I can eat in peace. I'm starting to get better with making them stay, but if the adults are pretty much done and we're just sitting there chatting, I think it's ok for them to get down.

I got a neat game called "Dinner Games" and it's a metal box of laminated cards with dinner games. They have two sets for differant age groups.  It helps keep the kids at the table. Such games as 'take turns making a sound and everyone guesses what it is' and 'what was your favorite part of the weekend' or 'see how many words you can make that start with the first letter of your name'.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Fun-Beginner-Dinner-Games/dp/B000RH51VE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1251691849&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Fun-Dinner-Games-Activities/dp/B000P0YOQ6/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in

 

MrsPreK

DS typically sits until we are all done eating unless he is being super-fussy. That rarely happens though.

Ciarrai

At dinner, everyone sits until everyone's done (lunch and breakfast are less formal, of course).  Half the time DD#1 doesn't eat dinner...ok, more often than not.  DD#2 is maybe 50/50 but she usually can find something she likes.  Both of them are expected to sit and chat or visit or whatever.  Dinner is family time.  We talk about our day, what we're doing tomorrow, school, work, etc.  They usually do fine with it and it's some of the little quality time DH gets with them during the week.  Every once in a while, DD#1 gets antsy or decides to get up.  We usually give her the choice of going to bed or sitting at the table.  (Guess what she chooses.)  Sometimes if DH is done, she'll go sit on his lap or something, but mostly everyone just sits where they are.

Liz342

Stacyc625:

for me- we all eat together and no one leaves the table until we are all done. however that is just how i grew up.

THIS.

Well, DD is a bit young to be getting up on her own now, but it will be this.

April37

cp760:

I got a neat game called "Dinner Games" and it's a metal box of laminated cards with dinner games. They have two sets for differant age groups.  It helps keep the kids at the table. Such games as 'take turns making a sound and everyone guesses what it is' and 'what was your favorite part of the weekend' or 'see how many words you can make that start with the first letter of your name'.

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Fun-Beginner-Dinner-Games/dp/B000RH51VE/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1251691849&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Family-Fun-Dinner-Games-Activities/dp/B000P0YOQ6/ref=tag_dpp_lp_edpp_img_in

 

Love this idea!