I'm curious (RE:Dinner time)

[rach3975]

DH works too late, but the kids and I sit down together with no electronics every night. Well, they sit and eat. I'm with them and talking/interacting, but I find that all the cutting food, getting seconds, etc. keeps me too busy to actually eat with them. That will change when they get a little older. We'll also start waiting for DH when they get older. (But he's going to hate that, LOL. He's a die hard eat-in-front-of-the-tv guy.) When they finish they can leave the table.

I make 1 main meal, but it's tough for me to insist everyone eat the same thing. I'm a vegetarian and rarely eat what the kids do, so I feel like a hypocrite refusing to acknowledge the kids' strong preferences. (And they ALL have strong preferences, as does DH.) That said, I'm not cooking 4 meals. When I'm making something that I know someone doesn't like, I make sure to pair it with filling sides that they can eat as a meal. If that isn't practical one night, I allow peanut butter sandwiches. Everyone is served everything and must try 1 bite, but after that it's their choice.

Milk is the most common drink at dinner, but what I offer varies depending on what they've already had during the day.