Baltimore Nesties
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Dinner Etiquette Question
When your family gets together for a big meal, does everyone usually wait until everyone is sitting down before you start eating or do people start eating right away? I don't necessarily mean a buffet type dinner like Thanksgiving when there are 20 people or so, but growing up, did you usually wait for everyone to sit down before starting? If you do wait, what do you think is a good age to start enforcing this with kids?
Re: Dinner Etiquette Question
BFP#1: 01/10, M/C 6w -- BFP#2: 06/10, M/C 5w -- BFP#3: 09/10, DS born June 1, 2011
BFP#4: 07/12, M/C 5w3d -- BFP#5: 12/12, EDD 08/18/13
Decorate This
We always wait for everyone to sit down before we start eating.
I imagine we will enforce it as soon as the kids are old enough to really be eating dinner with us - maybe 3. Although that could change when we actually have kids.
We waited until everyone was seated and served.
We don't really do that with DD now - I serve her first and get her started while DH and I are serving ourselves. She leaves the table now when she's done and doesn't have to ask to be excused, but we are working on it. I think her manners are appropriate now for her age - she sits in her seat, eats her food, listens and participates in the conversation appropritely, doesn't make a huge mess, etc.
I'm not going to make a 3 yo sit at the table for 20 minutes while everyone serves themselves. If she were 10 and not able to wait for everyone, we'd have a problem.
Growing up, we were taught to wait until the last person sat down (usually my mom) and DH grew up this way as well, out of respect for whoever made the meal.
My SIL doesn't enforce this with her kids (who are 11 and 8), and I don't really know the reason for it (since that's how she was raised). I definitely would not expect it from a 3 year old or even a 5 year old, but I would think an 8 year old would be old enough, right?
At my parents place we usually get A in her seat, food on her plate and then we sit down. She will some times start eating before us.
At my IL's it's a free for all.
No, we don't wait for everyone to be seated before we start eating. I have a habit of busting my arse over dinner and then not being hungry when it's time to eat. It's like I need 10 minutes to chill out before I want to look at the food I've been slaving over for an hour.
DD would understand at this age if that were a rule, so I imagine around 3 would be a decent time to start enforcing the habit.
At my parents everyone waits, even the kids, until everyone is sitting down. But at my inlaws it's not like this...it's more of a cattle call and you get your plate and eat wherever.
We wait till everyone's seated. We started enforcing this with Aiden last year, probably around the time he turned 3. He now knows he has to wait until we're all seated and ask to be excused.
DH's family never waits till everyone is seated, or even served. It drives me nuts. In fact, Aiden called them on it last Easter!
miscarriage on 11/26/09 at 5w6d
My parents were so not into enforcing etiquette when we were younger - I don't remember this rule as a small child - but about the time we all hit late elementary school/middle school I think my mom realized we had no table manners lol and panicked, and that was when waiting for things like everyone to be seated became enforced. But I definitely think she could have done it younger.
General rule in my mind - when the child is eating what you are eating (so not baby food or a different dinner) and when the child is old enough to understand what you are saying.