when i was younger that definitely happened but, getting older it was mostly in the living room or hide in your room.

Yes, we did but my dad didn't speak at all. He was army and they eat very fast :-) which was a shame

Nope. We did have a table, but not a dinner table. It was like a sofa-front table. We, including our dad, sat in the lounge on the sofa, and my mom sat on a low stool. My parents would constantly fight at the table. I do not remember even 1 instance when they did not fight. It would start from my mother asking how the food is, (as she made it), with my dad just shrugging and saying nothing. (my mother is a skilled cook, it was one of her subjects in college. Her food was absolutely delicious). It was just so normal. From bickering about cheating accusations, to death threats and threats of divorce, it all unfolded at dinner. And we, the kids, just ate quietly, afraid to say something. Our parents would look at us, expecting us to take sides. It was all extremely distressing.
We stopped eating at the table after a decade of their marriage or so, as the house became messier and messier. We all have eaten in our beds at different times for the longest time. Food is not dished out, just taken directly from the pot. For a number of years we even had a cold kitchen and would only order from the restaurant. (we threw our stove out). Now we have a 1 burner stove, that sits on the kitchen floor.

What about you?

Kind of?

When I was very young, my mom would cook and we all would eat at the table, but that stopped when I was about 10. Then my mom started staying gone for months at a time so I became the cook, and my brother and I didn't want to eat at the table.

I did. Dinnertime was fun. For quite a while there were at least six of us, and since there were no cell phones, no PCs and the television didn't get turned on until 8 pm, we often sat around for a long time.

A friend came home with me to supper, and afterwards, she said, "Wow! That was intense."

we were generally an argumentative bunch.

Yes, On some nights there was perhaps more talking than on others - in my young days,when my parents talked about adult stuff,that sometimes led to questions from my brother and myself,leading to more conversation.

Yes I did. There was a strict rule that the TV would be off during dinner, and we would talk with each other at the table.

I did until my parents split when I was 10. Then we sat around the TV.
With my own kids we ate at the table. And we spoke in this order.
#1 child: My daughter spoke the most.
#2 child: he spoke a lot and made fun of his sister.
#3 child: spoke the least. Mostly listened. Very funny when he made a comment though.
#4 child: Sometimes chipped in
Their mum: interacted
Me: Interacted.
I just finished a portrait of my four kids, now adults. When they sat at the table they interacted exactly as I described, as though they were still teenagers.

No. My father was never home from 5 a.m to 8 p.m growing up . Dad was the only one I really cared to talk to after I was 10, and I wasn't allowed to "bother" him ever. And none of the rest of us were likely to talk about anything of substance around each other anyway. We sometimes ate at the table if mom insisted which was rare, but we didn't talk, none of us trusted anybody for the most part. And dinner was just an opportunity for mom to tell us what horrible people we were for not living up to every expectation perfectly or because kids can be inconvenient to her wants and needs.

We'd eat and run off to do homework and chores and be away from each other.

If I go visit my parents to this day, they always insist on eating in front of the TV, I think TV became a buffer for awkward socializing. Lol.

Mainly remember my brother and I driving our poor mum batty by playing with our food. Dad in his dinner work break would ignore the whole thing, just eating, no time to spare.

Me and my older brother, if we had something like mash, sausage and peas, would chop up the sausage and stick it into the mash at strange angles, then dot the peas over our creation. We would give our masterpiece names:- A mashadedong or some such, as we laughed and giggled. Poor old mum would be at her wits end....."just eat it!" desperate for us to get our nutrition!

Happy days! (If not for mum!)

Yes. We sat at the dining room table when I was younger...and then my mother added a sliding door and converted the garage to a studio/ dining area, and we ate at a kitchen table in the converted garage.

When my brother lived at home, he talked to my father. I was a little young to participate...but my brother did enjoy grossing me out with things he learned in high school, and later at Boston College...so my remarks were mostly, "Ewwww!!!!" 🤣🤣🤣

No. Dinner was had in the living room and there were no conversations had during it. It’s a bit ridiculous to admit but that gathering and sharing reflecting a “normal” family setting was something I had always wanted. And it was something that came to be when I started a family of my own.

No 😅 That only happens in movies lol

Yes, up until I was nine when my mother went to work.

I grew up in dysfunctional trauma, so when I went to friends homes who did this, it felt very strange but I liked it. With my own children, thats exactly what we did from the very beginning as I tried to break the poor parenting examples I was given and hopefully raise happier children.

We sat at the table. That’s about it.

Never. My parents were horrible people. I learned at an early age to keep my distance and never volunteer any information I didn't have to. No one ever talked at the dinner table.

🤔.........Nope......

Yes. Until I got a little older we did family dinners and weekend breakfast always at the table…. Then life happened.

There was some kind of semblance but nobody was ever saying anything of significance.

my family owned a restaurant so most times dinner revolved around making sure other people were fed. we ate whenever we had time.

Maybe when I was little, but that ended. For me, I just eat my dinner etc in my room by myself

Yes. And so did my wife. And we raised our kids the same way.

yep

I don’t ever recall talking about homework or school much with my family. When I was living with my mom & dad a few years before then my father would patronizingly ask me from 3rd grade “What did you learn today?” As though I should report back to him. I know he didn’t care so why the hell ask. I think that’s why I didn’t want to talk about it. Lived with an aunt & uncle later and didn’t talk that much about it either. Just did my homework sometimes for 2 hours after dinner and wasn’t asked to do chores when I was doing that.

Not really

More or less. I never talked about my day though and always hated when somebody asked me.

No
Only on holidays

Yes

Yeah

No.

I did. It was be quiet. Answer my dad's questions. No laughter. No shennanigans. He believed children should be seen and NOT heard. My mom obeyed him.

Yes….

No

Not usually, mostly fast food when I became a teenager.

When I was in elementary school we ate at the table.

As an adult I look back and recognize my mom was really depressed in my tween/teen years. My dad was an ass and I'm guessing she felt trapped but also was sticking it out for us kids. I'm guessing mom's depression lead to breakdown of family dinner.


Admittedly we rarely dine at the table with my tween. They grew to prefer dining alone with the iPad which I know is really unhealthy. We do on occasion connect sharing a meal together ... probably at least a few times a week.

Yes.
But dinner time is nothing like that now.

Yes, always, and no phones allowed at the table

Yes

Use to

Yah. We all still do.

No, we only sit together on holidays.

and said grace (full disclosure: ran away from home at age 15)