Aren’t meal times a hassle?
Wisdom has it that the family meal is extremely important. It is a time to come together and share the days happenings. No one speaks out of turn, respectfulness abounds, and everyone enjoys the food. Once the meal is done, the entire family pitches in to wash and dry the dishes and retires to the family room for a jovial game of Scrabble and a quick snatch of TV. The kids head upstairs with smiles on their faces for a bath and a night of restful sleep.
Oh, sorry, I must have been dreaming. Life is not like that in my house.
The first problem is getting the meal on the table. If dinner isn’t prepared before school lets out, then it is going to be a late night. Activities rule after school (hey, that rhymes!). I become official family chauffeur and the chef’s hat gets left at home. Usually I can nab one of the kids to set the table, which is a big help.
The second problem is shooing the kids away from snacks because dinner will be ready “in just a few minutes”. If I am diverting them then I am not cooking. Yes, they know the rules but that doesn’t stop them from trying. “Mommmmmm, an apple is HEALTHY!”
The third problem is the menu. I can please one, maybe two – but all six of us? Not always possible. So after making the effort to get dinner on the table, it is painful to watch them push broccoli from one side of the plate to the other. Don’t get me wrong – they really do try to like it. “This broccoli,” grimace, grimace, “is delicious, mom.” grimace, grimace. “Do I have to finish both pieces or is one ok? Do I have to finish the whole piece, or will one bite do?”
And all this, of course, is followed by the standard request, “May I have some dessert?” Thankfully, fresh fruit qualifies as dessert so they do get some vitamins somewhere.
Somewhere, in this process, we are able to converse about the day but my crew is loud and rambunctious. On a good day this is entertaining – and I love it. Other days the conversation can become quarrelsome – and I dread it.
Regardless, I am usually exhausted when the day is done.
Genesis has provided an excellent list of Tips for Keeping the Family Fed. These tips are golden and may just make mealtimes a bit easier in our house!
Also, you may want to read about a healthier twist on snacking at Cheerios Snack Mix and Fizzix Fizzy Yogurt And finally here are some wonderful ideas for healthy lunches
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Yeah, sounds about the same as here. If I can’t get dinner made around lunch time then there is only a 50% chance it will get made at all
I think cooking it before school gets out is the next thing I will try.. Great idea. I love the visit it makes my two look a little easier:)
Boogiemum and Donetta,
It is amazing how fast the day flies. And it is so hard to spend the precious morning hours (when the kids are in school) fixing dinner. Blah. But when I make the effort, my stress levels go down.
Thanks for mentioning my post! Sounds chaotic at your house.
My almost 2 year old is like your kids when it comes to snacks. Hard to explain that dinner will be ready in a jiff, if he can just wait five minutes!
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