W is a few months out yet from sitting in a chair and eating. However, I wonder if I'm already setting a bad example by my dh and I eating dinner in front of the tv. He's getting better about not crying while we eat so we can mostly eat at the same time now. It's important to me to have family dinner at the dinner table when he's older, but we rarely use the dinner table now because it's in an awkward place. We don't plan to live in this house but maybe another year.
Do you eat dinner as a family at the table and when did you start?
Re: eating at the dinner table
When he was in a high chair and we made dinner for the whole family.
I hate cooking - so I never made dinner until I absolutely had to. So when he turned about 2
Easter 2011
We do eat as a family at the dinner table now. We started when Lucy started eating solids, so around 5 mos. Before then (for 9 years!) DH and I always ate in front of the tv.
But, we really like the new standard of eating together at the dining room table. We talk more, we interact with Lucy, it is really nice family time.
We bought a new couch 3 years ago and haven't eaten on the couch since. We eat dinner together every night at the dinner table. It's been harder since Maddy arrived, dinner time ranges whenever she falls asleep so I can put her down in her swing.
TJ cooks most of the time now. Pre-baby we both cooked, we used to make dinner together almost every night.
ETA: Our house has an open floor plan though, so our living room turns into our dining room which turns into our kitchen. So while we eat at the table the TV is on in the living room, which we can still see/watch when it's on.
M/C 9/21/09 | M/C 12/24/09 | BFP 1/23/10
Madeline Rey DOB 9/30/10
TTC # 2 Jan 2013
BFP 3/12/13 | EDD 11/18/13
It's a GIRL! Lydia Marie!
Easter 2011
Jen - Mom to Jillian (10/2008) and Hayden (4/2010)
My Blog
We ate dinner at the table even before K was born. And unless a little one is sleeping, they have been at the table with us since we brought them home from the hospital. I would just hold them or set them in the bouncer next to me. We started using the highchair as soon as they could sit (4.5 months for G and 5 months for K) and now we all 4 eat together.
We also have an open floor plan but try to keep the TV off during meal times. I like the family time to chat about our days and demonstrate appropriate table manners for the littles.
We've been focusing on eating all together at the table a lot more in the past two weeks. N now asks to be excused and other manners are improving. We went out to eat last night and he did great!
Before, It was usually N eating and then DH and I eating (usually seperately) after he went to bed.
As much as we can we eat around the table together as a family but probably 50% (or more) J eats by herself at the table (I sit with her) and he and I eat after she goes to bed (usually in front of the tv).
Between DH getting home late and not having time to cook dinner before she's ready to eat we don't do great in this area but we're working on it. She used to go to bed at 7pm sharp so we got into this habit but now that she stays up a little later we have more flexibility.
My Blog
We have a reclining high chair, so we've all eaten together for quite a while. I think we got the high chair at around 3 months or so. We used to set her in the swing and have it on the floor next to the table, but I had a coupon so I bought the high chair and she absolutely loves it. I think she likes being at our level. It immediately bought us at least another 15 - 20 minutes of time to eat because she was a lot happier and we can interact with her as we eat.
But I'll confess...with me working swings, I'm not home for dinner time four nights a week. So I know DH eats in front of the tv usually when I'm gone. It's also the reason we make a point to try to eat at the table when I'm here, so we at least have three nights of a family dinner.