National Eat Dinner Together Week

Did you know that this week is National Eat Dinner Together Week?  This somewhat obscure celebration falls right on the heels of Cheese Pizza Day (September 5), Chocolate Milkshake Day (September 12), and Creme-filled Doughnut Day (September 14).  While unfortunately I did not participate in those yummy holidays, my household is taking our best shot at observing National Eat Dinner Together Week.

When I was young we ate together at the dinner table every single night.  No meals were ever eaten in front of a tv or with the tv on in the distance.  My mother was a single mom of two kids who worked more than 50 hours a week and always had a cooked meal on the table.  I wonder how she did it, because for some reason I just can’t.

When Erajh and I first got married we made dinner every night and ate together most of the time, but tended to eat meals in front of the television since we got home late and primetime television had normally started by that time.  We didn’t want to miss our favorite shows, so we combined dinner and tv.  As soon as Greenleigh was born, we determined that at some point in the future we would need to sit at the table for dinner, but that would be in the distant future.  She’s only a baby, right?  She can drink her bottles or eat her baby food anywhere.  As she got older, we transitioned her into the highchair and it was just easier to serve her a toddler friendly dinner there, while I made our dinner which would be eaten later, after she went to bed.

About 2 months ago I just couldn’t keep Greenleigh in the high chair anymore.  She just didn’t want to be confined and it became more trouble than it was worth.  I figured that it was a good run while it lasted, and started transitioning her to eating at the dinner table.  Honestly, it has been a difficult adjustment.  For all of us.  Greenleigh would rather play than eat any day.  She would, and has, taken two bites, proclaimed she is “all done” and started running laps around the table.  Only to want a snack later.  Sitting still just isn’t her thing, no matter what meal you put in front of her.

This week is different though.  While the celebration of National Eat Dinner Together Week doesn’t state that it must be done at a family table, that’s what we’re doing.  All four of us are sitting down eating dinner together this week, instead of eating in shifts.  And it has taken a great deal of commitment from all of us.  My husband, who typically gets home earlier than I do, has made dinner the last 2 days and had it on the table when I walked through the door with the girls.  In case you have forgotten, Greenleigh must eat immediately upon arriving home from daycare, so this is a crucial part of the puzzle.  I have also had to be firm with Greenleigh that she needs to sit at the table while everyone eats, which is difficult, but when everyone in the house is in one room that is where all the excitement is and where she wants to be.  We have also turned off the tv, and tried to have more conversations with Greenleigh.  As a result, we have learned that Greenleigh may in fact think her name is Lily, but that is another story for another time.

So tell me – Did you eat dinner at a family dinner table growing up?  Now, do you eat together as a family every night?  If you have young children, how do you make eating together work?