Everyone to the table.
 

Following on from comments on another thread I am interested to see how many of us on here sit together at the table to eat their meals.

We do in our house...I give the children 5 mins warning to give them time to go to the loo, wash hands etc.

Television is turned off, everyone has a chance to talk one at a time about their day and, when they've finished, the children ask permission to leave the table.

I think table manners are very important...the thought of eating our meals on our knees in front of the television fills me with horror. :eek:

It seems that more and more people are doing the meals on knees thing though. I read in the paper the other day about children starting school unable to use a knife and fork....this must be down to eating pizza out of boxes and suchlike. It's not a teacher's job to teach these things.

What goes on at meal times in your house?

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

I eat at table even though I eat alone - it is essential for good digestion.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Put us down for a yes Lilly.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

yes always did when kids were young n i was on the right shift, otherwise late wife n kids without me. even now me n paris always eat at the table, never on lap.:) as you said, i think its very important fer a childs education about good manners.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

No one in this house eats anywhere except the dining table - or the breakfast bar in the kitchen when necessary. Mealtimes are for eating and for socialising. I happen to think it's quite important.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Glad to see that standards are high at Neil and Romps Towers. :)

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

To break the mould, I haven't had the luxury of owning a dining table at uni and our living was full of boys and mess so I ate at my desk at my laptop or on my bed. I imagine many of you will cringe at this!

At home I eat with food on my knee but this seems like nothing compared to my uni habits. This year I'll have a dining table though depending on what my housemates are like I cant say yet whether I will or wont use it, but I'd much prefer to.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Just curious; why does it equate to high standards?

We do whatever's comfortable for the respective meal/day.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

When eating here I sit at my desk, having said that eat at my Mums or my Sisters most of the time these days and we always sit at the table:)

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Any one leaving the table without permission will be shot before they get to the door :rolleyes::D

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Count us in, strictly applied. TV doesn't go back on until slave labour is completed at the kitchen sink afterwards as well :D

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

i live alone so i eat either at my pc or on the sofa if watching tv but if the kids are over then i clear the table and we eat our meal there also switching off the tv

if i go to the trouble of cooking a meal it dam well gets eaten in peace and appreciated , even if it is only beans on toast lol

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

My niece was visiting Mum the other week and it was a pleasure to sit at the table for a meal with her, her hubby and their three young daughters. Even though the girls had finished eating they sat there so politely, an unusual sight these days but an enjoyable experience.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

It doesn't matter so much if you are on your own or a young student living at uni but when you are setting an example to children it is very important.

We need to start them off on the right path with table manners otherwise we end up with a generation of people who haven't a clue how to behave at a table because they've never been shown.

We need to set the standards for the children to follow.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

We eat at the table.... in front of the 42" plasma :P

We're halfway there :P

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Lol. Fair enough.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

What makes those standards right though?

My asian friends at uni sat on the floor with their family and eat with their hands, does that make them savages?

Convention doesn't necessarily imply it is correct.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

I wouldn't be too impressed if I was seated next to them at Franco's. :rolleyes::D

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

if they were eating human remains then yes but if not then no

we origionaly used bread as a plates which would then be eaten after the meal was finished which would also be eaten using fingers and not cuttlery and plates etc ,these items were a luxury for the upper classes but over time people saw themselves as having a higher status level if they copied the upper classes

its a bit like in the early 80's when it was considered posh if you had a vhs recorder but now in the 2000's it is no longer seen as a status infact they probably go for about £2 on a carboot sale

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

you could flip that tv and use it as a tv/dining table

space saving tip right there for you and you can still watch tv and eat ;)

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

its the standards we were brought up with in this country, agree with bonnyboy.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

when drinking tea i am going to start extending my little pinkie

i mean my bloody finger by the way :rolleyes:

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Why do they need to live by 'british culture' inside the privacy of their own homes?

And what exactly IS british culture when we live in a country that has a massive takeaway industry specialising in foods from all over the world? Or is the charming indian/chinese/italian (to name a few) industry just a figment of my imagination.

And like I said cashy, it's nothing more than convention. It's no different than discussing what utensils people use to eat their food. If it gets the job done then it doesnt really matter does it?

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

ya said your asian friends at uni.:rolleyes:

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

havent sat at a table since the last time i was at my sisters for tea. When i was a kid we used to sit at the card table (not the posh felt one - that one was for party time and cards) then when it was me and mum we just sat with it on our knees watching telly and now im either sat at the computer or sat on settee reading a book or watching tv.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

When I still lived at home, I would generally eat my dinner (lunch) at the table with my parents and my tea would be on my knee in front of the tv.

Since leaving home, lunch has usually been a sandwich at my desk at work and tea has been on a tray in front of tv.

This changed about 6 years ago when we moved house and finally had a kitchen which was big enough for a small table. Since then our habits have changed and we prefer to eat at the table, although I have to confess that the tv is still the focal point when it's just the two of us.

We've always had a seperate dining room, but this has only been used when we were entertaining friends and family, and features music, but no tv.

I've been looking at houses in the UK recently (for when we return) and find that many properties are badly planned in respect of kitchen and dining lay-out, which must discourage other families from eating together.:hehetable

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

Me and the missus always ate with our food on our knees until the little `uns came along, now we always sit at the table..........:D

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

England is getting smaller - (I haven't said UK because there are wild places in Wales and Scotland, but most of them are uninhabitable).
Our population is too dense, so new houses and the rooms in them are smaller.

I read recently that every German has twice as much space per head, and a Frenchman, 4 times as much!

So when architects have to economise on space they will shrink the area that many people wont use - a dining area

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

We do both depending on what mood we're in.

My OH is often home late so me and my daughter tend to sit in front of the telly but when he's there we always sit at the table.

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

I'm like Margaret, even though I live on my own I alway sit at the table, its easier to clean the table than the carpet anyway:D

Re: Everyone to the table.
 

We all eat at the table in our house

Maybe not all together, all the time, as 4 days a week the fella comes home, I go to work

But certainly when we aint all in and out, we all sit to the table and chat about things

We never eat in the front room, none of us