Reply to How do people get dinner on the table by 6:00?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here.  Thanks for all of the great ideas! I really like the cook/eat then prep for next night idea as well as eating after the kids go to bed and making extra for their earlier meal the night before.  When the baby is older I'm guessing I'll make some very simple dinners like scrambled eggs on some nights.  I have to say I'm impressed that people are getting home and immediately starting to cook! I couldn't do that.  But I guess it gives you more time to relax after dinner instead of before.   [/quote]

Don’t plan to eat dinner separately from your kid(s) every night! All of my friends who do this have kids who are picky eaters because they are used to eating scrambled eggs or nuggets every night. We feed our kids the same adult meal we eat and they are great eaters. Some of it is luck, but a lot of it is just starting out the way we want to continue. We all attempt to eat together and eat the same thing. I have read lots of places about the importance of family meals, so we try to do that. I grew up eating separately from my parents and I hated it. We were apart all day and then they didn’t even want to sit with us to eat and chat!?

Of course it’s not always possible to eat together. Someone has to work late, kids have various practices at different times. We have elementary and middle school age kids now and only eat together maybe 4 days a week, but it is always the goal. And we all eat the same thing but sometimes staggered.

As for timing, the kids are usually starving when they get home from school at 3. They are up at 6:30 and have lunch at school at 11ish. So they usually have a big snack after school. Ideal dinner time would be 5:30 or 6. We get it on the table by making really simple meals, more pre-packaged than I would like but at this point in our lives, it’s more important to eat together than have gourmet meals. I use the crock pot a fair amount, so I can set it up in the AM and then the food is warm for whenever we are able to eat. Pre-chopped veggies help, or I’ll chop them on the weekend. I buy shredded cheese instead of shredding it myself, that sort of thing. Breakfast for dinner, frozen meatballs with jarred sauce. We like some of the Kevin’s prepared meats that we just microwave, I keep a couple of those in the fridge for days when things are out of control and I just have no time. Takeout once or twice a week, and usually things I can’t make well myself, like Ethiopian or curry. We can cook elaborate meals on the weekends and will have plenty of time in retirement to eat dinner at 9pm.[/quote]

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