The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday in the noon hour.
QUESTION: How often do you eat dinner at the dinner table with family?
Talk about it.
It’s just Hubby and I for the last 15+ years, and we sit in the kitchen ,… bar stool counter height.
Also, when friend come to visit, it’s the place to gather for snacks and they watch me cook.
Every day. When the kids were at home we ate dinner together every day. And no phones were allowed.
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Dinner? At least six times per week.
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Home cooked meals are the way to go. We have ethnicity-themed dinners and try new meals for variety and to keep it interesting. The most requested are Indian, Italian, and Cajun American. At least one night is good ol’ American with rib eye steaks.
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Where I grew up almost everyone would eat dinner together. We always did. When I was married even before my daugther was born we usually eat dinner together. After my divorce I made it a point of sitting down to dinner with my daughter, at times the news might be on in the background, but usually it was a time to ask about her day, school etc. Her and her husband are carrying on that tradition with my grandchildren. Since my daughter went off to college I have been living alone, and since I work retail I’m not home every night at dinner time, however when I’m off I usually cook and sit down at the dinner table to eat. Sometimes in the winter especially on weekends, I might even ligth a candle. Sometimes I make a stew or something that can be saved and heated up a day or two later. So if I work to 6 or so then I can just heat it up. I do occassionally do take out or have something that was frozen.
I grew up eating on TV trays at home a lot. My wife and I have dinner every night at the table.
Almost every day
It’s nice to hear all of these stories of families that can work the same schedules and are able to schedule activities around dinner.
We maybe eat together as a family twice a week. My husband and I work about 5 hours off of each other and my son’s activities overlap a “normal” dinner time twice a week. We can usually pull together at least two days out of Fri/Sat/Sun.
Often these questions are based on everyone working a 9 to 5 schedule. However, it sounds like you are doing the best you can. I don’t think it’s as much to do with every night, as children feel a family unity, there are different ways of show that. Definitely don’t feel quilty, just because you have a different schedule.
I at times suffer from insomnia, and whenever I hear sleep expert or read advise of how to deal with it, the advise is always go to bed the same time every night. That of course does not work when one is working retail. Some days I get off at 9 p.m. others 6 or 7 p.m. and come the holiday season, all bets are off. So whether is dinner time, sleep schedule we just do the best we can,
We always ate together when my daughters were home despite my husband’s crazy schedule. Neither cellphones nor any electronic devices were allowed to be on or near the table.
Now track these answers relative to divorce rate. Guarantee it is inversely proportional. Not that dinners save marriages but the people that put effort into family dinner put effort in elsewhere too.