Establishing a family mealtime???

[jaq]

Hello "older" parents :)

Mine are only littlies yet but I had a couple of questions I thought someone here might be able to help me with ...

Firstly, at what point did you introduce family mealtimes, particularly, dinner time? And what time do you eat?

We find the children are so much better using forks etc when we eat with them, but we struggle when we eat before 7pm. I'm hungry again by 10pm!

I'd love to have a regular family dinnertime, but I'm a bit baffled as to how families with young children manage it! Currently, we aim to have ours in bed by 7pm, though that could stretch to 7.30pm if it had to.

Ideas?

Second question is somewhat related. When was your child old enough to use adult-sized, "silver" cutlery? How long did you use the interim plastic-and-metal child-sized cutlery for?

[Rainbowbrite]

2nd bit first so I remember :p I used smaller metal cutlery till I was about 8. I just prefered "my" stuff :p MJ happily uses our big things, just depends on what she wants to use :rolleyes:

We've always had family meal time, even when Ani was tiny he'd sit in the bouncer while we ate. Ani is now 14.5months & MJ 3.9yrs. We eat dinner together every night between 6-7pm followed by bath, quiet time with milk/boob & then bed around 7.30. We've always eaten dinner early, then we have desert when the kids are in bed :D They have some desert some nights straight after dinner.

Works for us as DH is home by 3pm so hungry by 6. We're also in bed around 10.30.

Hope that helps :)

[Seekrit]

I know I only have the one :p but we have introduced family mealtimes recently in an effort to encourage Cobes to eat his dinner/vegies... he eats better when everyone else is sitting aorund eating and he's not allowed down until either his plate is clear or, failing that, the last person finishes if he's decided not to eat/finish.

We aim to have Cobes in bed at 8, so I try to have dinner on the table by 7.. that means getting home from work, sitting down for about half an hour and then starting dinner :p I don't eat dessert until he's in bed though ;) hahah (could help your 10pm hungries?)

Also, Cobey eats with normal silver cutlery now, he does well with it :D

[~Emmylou~]

We have a four year old and a two year old - we've all been sitting down for dinner at the same time for over a year.

Basically DH and I have both had to learn to eat earlier. Before kids we used to eat late - 8 or 9pm. We just had to suck it up lol.

In winter we all eat at about 6pm, at the moment it's about 6.30. We are done by 7ish, the kids have a play/wind down while we clean up and it's bedtime at 7.30.

Whatever you choose to do as long as it's consistent your kids will fall in and go with it.

[jaq]

Thanks so much for sharing, people.

You are exactly right, Emmylou. Hereby sucking it up. I think you just get used to eating at a certain time, and once 6pm or 6.30pm is dinnertime, my stomach will just learn to shut up. (Or we will be having late desserts ;)

Think we are going to be following your routine, RB - not so far from us at the moment. I think I'll do it in two steps - dinner at 6pm for the moment, then bath 6.30 and bed 7pm, which is what we aim for now. I think Sofia is too young to go the bed much later than that atm.

Nick usually gets home at 5.45, sometimes 6pm or 6.15. So most nights he will be able to eat with us, even if he is still in his bike gear (he rides a bike to and from work).

In a six months or a year, maybe try pushing it to 6.30, and then bed at 7.30. That will give Nick a chance to shower and change before he comes to the table, and a little more time with the girls after work ... he absolutely loves playing with them when he gets home, so that's important :goodvibes:

We've found exactly the same with our girls, Seek. Apart from wanting to build a family ritual, the practical benefits of eating together including a) more food is eaten and b) less food ends up on the floor. Both VERY MUCH of the good, imho.

Re the cutlery, I've never even thought to offer Annika fullsized cutlery before! I tried last night ... she wasn't interested, but I'll keep trying. Sooner I can junk all the plastic from my cutlery drawer, the better!

Tonight was hilarious, though - we had Noodlebox (at 6.15 pm!) and four sets of chopsticks. Annika insisted on using hers like a knife and fork :laughing:. It wasn't graceful, but she still managed to get all of her noodles! Sofia decided a fork was more her style, and given that we work hard to get her to use a fork, I'll take that as a victory!

[Jenko]

My kids are 2 and 4.5. We've been eating at the table for I'd say almost a year. We used to eat at 5-5.30pm (depends on DS) Now we eat at 5.30-6 as he is getting older. Kids are bathed by 6.30 and they go to bed around 7.30pm.

If i get hungry later on I usually have a cup of tea and a biscuit. Or a half nutella sandwich :laughing:

Before kids we use to eat at 7.30 -8pm. How times change!

[MummyCharmzy]

You can start a family meal time as soon as bub starts eating. Even if it doesnt end up being the babies meal time they can still get used to sitting at the table as a family. By about 12 months they can eat at the same time as we do. We eat dinner 5.30 - 6 depending on when hubby gets home from work, sometimes its a bit later because we like to eat together but thats our usual time.

As for cutlery the boys have only just started using silver cutlery and they are 6 and 7, the girls still use plastic every time.

Before #1 I was used to eating dinner around 8pm and we moved that forward to 7pm but of course it wasnt working when he was normally in bed by then. For a while we ate dinner AT 5 every night but now the kids have adapted a bit and can even go til 6.30 if they must, thats pushing it though.Not sure about anyone else but I find after 6pm mine start to struggle to eat there dinner as they are too tired to eat!

[JabberJaw]

We have family meal time from birth :p

Basically if bub was awake, she would be in her rocker at the table, now she is 11 months, she has been having dinner at the same time as us since starting solids. We eat 5 - 5.30 as my kids go to bed at 6.30-7pm at the latest.

We do dinner, play,bath, TV and they have a prize (dessert) which is something small like a treat size chokkie,ice block, a bikkie etc. Then toilet, teeth and bed.

Works well for us, but yep i too get hungry the later i stay up too, i have some dessert later or a handful of fruit/nut mix. sometimes a yogurt.

[jaq]

Just to update you all on how this is working ... brilliantly :D

We have eaten dinner together as a family every day bar one of last week ... we can't seem to manage 6pm, as Nick is still getting in the door then, but 6.15 seems to work really well.

Nick and the girls set the table while I dish up, and we pour the water into a little jug so Annika can pour us all a glass of water, then we eat.

Annika's table manners have improved markedly, and she eats a lot more with a lot less complaining if we are all eating it.

Sofia is still learning to master a fork, but watches us all so closely and obviously loves being at the table with big sister, Mum and Dad.

The munchies do bite around 9pm, but I've been having some low fat yoghurt and fruit at that time. Nick often makes himself up a bowl of pasta to have as a second dinner ... but he cycles 200km a week, so he's allowed!