Dinner time working mom confession
My boys are in the routine of coming home and watching curious george on the DVR while I cook dinner and get it ready. lately it's been bad - they are hungry and I give them snacks to eat, most of the time healthy like carrots and grapes or red pepper with dip. But then comes dinner time when dad gets home and they aren't hungry anymore. So I've been feeding them dinner and letting them sit at their kid table in the family room to eat. Not every night, usually just the nights that dad gets home a little later, 2 times a week. This way they at least eat their full healthy dinner and I don't have to deal with crying, whining, tantrums and meltdowns.
Does anyone else do this? I feel horrible, and know i am getting them into a bad habit of eating with the TV. Thoughts?
Re: Dinner time working mom confession
We've done it and make a fun little picnic out of it. Before DS, DH and I always ate dinner in front of the TV. It's just not something on my "big deal" list. It's not every night but some nights it just works.
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
I'm in the minority here in that we don't eat our own dinner until DD is in bed. We usually have food for her that's made in advance (leftovers, steamed veggies, whatever) that we can pop in the micro easily. Then one of us cooks our dinner while the other does bath and bedtime. I can't make a full dinner without putting DD in front of the TV either, so that's how we avoid it. But we also do it this way because DH and I are used to working late and eating late.
At the same time, I certainly don't think you should feel horrible about it. It doesn't sound like that big a deal to me at all. If you feel bad about them eating with the TV on can they eat their meals at the kitchen table even if it's early?
DD is small for her age and sometimes I have to put the TV on to get her to eat. So she eats in front of the TV sometimes, and I'm fine with that. DH and I eat dinner in front of the TV every night. We've said once we get unpacked and clear off the kitchen table we'll eat in there without the TV, since we just moved into a new house.
DD is hungry as soon as she gets home from daycare so I usually give her some snacks and end up making her dinner before DH gets home. Her highchair is in the kitchen so she eats in the kitchen while I make our dinner.
Same here. WHen my son gets home from school he is STARVING!! I try to give him little snacks but find that he wont finish his dinner! So I try to either bring home take out some nights and that way we can eat right away, or give him fruit until dinner is done.
I am also guilty of the TV!! My son goes ballistic if I want to turn off his TV and Im sorry that I ever let him watch it.