Parents often complain that mealtime is the most stressful time of the day. They look so forward to sitting down as a family and having the ideal mealtime and then stressed and annoyed when children cannot behave, want to leave the table early, or get hungry and whiney and cannot even wait for dinner time to roll around. Perhaps part of the problem could be that you are expecting too much out of mealtime and you are expecting children to sit at the table for longer than they can…
Very young children cannot sustain interest or focus long enough for an hour-long family meal. Even older children may get bored and antsy and have other things that they want or need to do. The time that you choose for your mealtime factors into things too. A late dinner time can make it tough for children to keep from “decompensating” since it is at the end of a long and often busy day. You might consider having an “appetizer” time prior to dinner—letting the kids munch on cheese and crackers or vegetables while you prepare dinner and using that time to socialize, catch up and spend quality family time. Then, if they don’t last long at the dinner table you will not feel so cheated.
While different families have different values, making a child sit at the table longer than he is focused or interested or even eating can spell disaster and disruption. It might be a more pleasant meal all around if you adjust your expectations. Maybe let the children leave and then gather in the living room or on the patio for dessert. Being able to get down and then come back might ease some of the tension and allow for a more pleasant family time.
Any different ideas that others have tried for making family mealtimes more pleasant and keeping it within the realm of what is possible for a young child?
See also the FOOD Blog