Family Meals

I always ate with my family at the table. That's just how it was. My mother cooks and everyone sits down at the table together. We eat at different speeds, though; I usually finish first, and leave the table early. No one ever finishes up alone, however; the next-to-last person always sticks around. I guess my family thinks there's something sad about eating alone. Or maybe it's part of their "family values."
Breakfast is different though; since we wake up at different hours, we eat at the table, but not together.

It was always so obvious to me that when I was invited to friends' houses and saw that they basically got food for themselves when they wanted it, or else they didn't eat, I was very surprised. Now, I realize it's just another way of doing it... and I certainly don't mind eating alone.

 

We don't eat together. We all eat at different times due to all having different hours in the day. As in, you can't expect someone who woke up at 14:00 to have breakfast with the rest of the family.

 

We eat together as a family. But we don't wait for every person to finish before we leave.

 

We used to eat together as a family, but now we rarely eat together because everyone in our household works at different times ... It's usually just me and my mother now..

 

There are some meals we all eat together at the table, but if there's food that a member of our family doesn't particularly like, they don't have to be at the table, and there aren't complaints. Also if we're all at the table, we all typically get up and leave as we finish.

 

It's varied over the years. My family used to always eat dinner at the kitchen table. I rebelled against this in my teen years. I began leaving as soon as I'd finished my dinner. I hardly talked and focused on eating quickly. I NEEDED to return to my video games. My dad followed my lead. He began taking his dinner through to the living room and playing video games. We've likely debated which is the most efficient method.

Sometimes we planned dinner to be around afternoon TV. We shared quality family time laughing at X-Factor auditions. Although it was sometimes difficult to enjoy films because my mom kept asking questions such as "why did he do that?" and "how did that happen?" I don't even think she realises what she's doing.

For many years, my mom worked various evening jobs, so, me and my dad had to feed ourselves. Buying chips just wasn't gonna cut it. Although that's exactly what we did at first. I should really stop teasing him about the time he set the fire alarm off and burned his dinner. We agreed that it was usually a nice quiet time though.

Our schedules have usually varied too much to share breakfast time.

If there's important news; we put it on the family noticeboard.
If there's an appointment; we put it on the family calendar.
At times we've had a weekly meal plan stuck on the fridge.

 

We'd all eat together more often when my brother and I were kids. Nowadays I still tend to eat at the same time as my parents, but that's just because we usually get home or are hungry around the same time. My brother usually gets home later than everyone else and tends to eat something smaller, a pb&j or cereal or something, while we eat what my my mom prepares or some other leftovers. We still have family meals on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.

 

Family meals were mostly a Christmas thing.

 

We would eat dinner together regularly and we still do when I or my sister come home and everything. Other meals, however, we'd usually eat on our own. We also didn't necessarily have to eat the same thing. I.e. we didn't really have "pork chop night" and "spaghetti night" like every white middle class suburban family. We might have a variety of things or we might decide to eat something different each, but we'd at least eat at the table together. We would often talk afterwards, but that was mainly just because my family and I are pretty close and that was no issue. My parents didn't force us to stay at the table.

 

Honestly eating is a horrible social activity. Who wants to look at someone while they eat and listen to them chew and talk through a mouthful of food. I hate eating it with other people and prefer doing it alone in my room.

 

It varies a lot. My friend was always surprised when I reminded her that my family doesn't eat together at the table for dinner. For breakfast, since my dad is a teacher, we ate together in the morning. For lunch, usually everyone kind of does their own thing (if there's no school that day). At dinner, my parents would usually go upstairs and watch a movie while they ate, and I would be downstairs eating and doing homework.

 

My mum and I always eat together (for as long as I can remember), because there's only the two of us. It's getting old and generally I'd rather eat alone and avoid another awkward conversation.

 

When I was living with my parents we always had dinner together, unless someone was away from home the whole day.

There wasn't really a certain place where we ate, sometimes at the dinner table other times in the living room, but we did always have dinner together.

 

We all eat together if we happen to be at home at the same time, but that doesn't happen so often. Usually just me and my sister eat together.

 

For my family, it is an on and off thing. Sometimes we go off and eat in different places, other times we will eat together. It really depends on who is around as usually my brothers are gone.

 

Much to my extreme discomfort, I am forced to sit at a table and eat a meal with the rest of the family. I usually sit in silence whilst the rest of my household takes part in menial and pointless conversation. Once I am finished, I am forced to say until excused to leave.

 

My mum always said that the dinner table was sacred and if we didn't all eat together, our family would be scattered into pieces. So long story short, ever since my parents' divorce we've eaten together every day, year after year.... no expections (unless you've been on some practise or for some reason gets home late)

 

We either ate and watched TV with tray tables OR we ate at the table, depending on the mood of my parents. My mom preferred to eat in front of the TV while my dad preferred to eat at the table, and now preferring more in front of the TV.

 

Family meal times were sometimes rather unpleasant, usually down to my fathers behaviour so I didn't particularly enjoy them. We didn't eat around a table but we would eat in the same room which wasn't so bad unless he was in a bad mood and started throwing a tantrum (as well as his dinner across the room on a few occasions). When I was older I spent a period of time living with him and his family which unfortunately coincided which my digestive problems reaching their peak. We'd eat sitting around the living room. I'd usually have a bad stomachache for about 2 hours after dinner caused by either being made to eat food that was spicy or in some way unsuitable, being made to eat the whole thing too quickly in one sitting, or a combination of both. He was quite a sadist/control freak when it came to food.

When it's just been me and my mother however it's fine, we can eat wherever we want, usually at the same time but in separate rooms at our own pace as more convenient.

I don't mind eating around other people, but I DO dislike eating under pressure.