Skip to main content
DinnerRitualsRules

R.O.D.

By September 9, 2011August 5th, 201454 Comments
In my next life, I want to be Brooke Reynolds, creator not just of the inspired family blog inchmark, but of the kind of life where kids have hand-sewed mongrammed ballet and book bags; where families have color-coordinated reunions (and seem to genuinely like each other); and where there is no such thing as a detail that is too small to be made special. Brooke, a former designer at Martha Stewart Living, is a big believer in eating dinner with her brood (her husband and three kids) and here she guest-posts about a few rules laid down for the family table. And yes, she is responsible for the beautiful artwork as well. See what I mean about simple made special? –Jenny

We love family dinner at our house, I’ve got three children ages 1 to 7 and that moment when we all sit down together to eat a good meal…it really is my favorite moment of the day. I’ve been loving all the recipes and great tips I’ve learned from DALS, and I’m happy to share our Rules of Dinner — some ideas that have helped my family enjoy our dinners together. 

The first trick of family dinner is getting the family together. We try to eat around the same time each night, and at the same place (around our dining room table). I think consistency is key. Kids don’t eat at the kitchen counter, or up in their rooms. Even if you aren’t hungry, you still join the family at the dinner table.

This was a phrase my mother invented, and she used it often at our dinner table when I was growing up. Dinner time is sacred, and only nice things are said at the table. You may want to remind your son to clean up his room, but wait until after dinner. Siblings don’t bicker, parents don’t lecture. The table is a safe place.

For adults this means: No newspapers. No magazines. No phones. No laptops, etc. For kids: No legos or other toys. No books. No homework. If the phone rings, just let it ring. (This rule is sometimes harder for
the adults than the children!)

We use our best manners at the table. We say please and thank you. We ask for things instead of just grabbing them. Dinnertime is the perfect place to teach children the correct way to behave at meals, in fact my
mom used to read us a page from Miss Manners during dinner each night.

Granted this may not be necessary if you don’t have small children, but all four on the floor refers to the legs of your chair: All four legs need to remain on the floor at all times. It’s hard to have a conversation with someone who is rocking back and forth as they eat (and my kids need to be reminded a few times each meal).

So you don’t like broccoli, that’s okay. Forcing kids to eat food they hate is a game I don’t enjoy playing. But we do ask our kids to try a bit of everything on the table, it can just be a bite or two. I want them to learn to be polite about food, and learn to try things that seem a little scary.

The dinner table is a great place to talk about all the busy details of your day, but not the place to YELL about it. We need to remind our 5-year-old Bee about this quite frequently, as she often has exciting news to report. We’re all for talking, but it needs to be with a quiet voice.

One of the requirements of dinner at our house is “High and Low”. We take a minute to go around the table and everyone shares their high point and low point of the day. I love hearing about the kids high points, but the low points are even more interesting.. they share things I sometimes wouldn’t hear about any other way. Often someone doesn’t have a low point to share, in that case, you share two high points.

It’s hard to spend an hour making dinner and then hear a chorus of “But I don’t like shrimp!” I try to make dinners I know my kids will want to eat, but I also like to try new things, which means that every once in a while, dinner is a flop. We’re trying to teach our kids to be kind to the person who made dinner, so we ask them to keep quiet, eat the things they like at the table, and if they’re still hungry after dinner they can grab a slice of bread or some fruit to hold them over until breakfast.

The person who cooks is never left alone to clean up. The kids clear their plates as they leave the table, and everyone grabs a few more things and takes them into the kitchen. Lately we’ve been trying to wash the dishes really quickly so we have time for a walk around the neighborhood after dinner. Good motivation to get dinner cleaned up so we can get out the door.

Do you have rules at your house for dinner? I’d love to hear them, so please share.

54 Comments

  • Avatar staci ericson says:

    I REALLY love the concept “dinner is a safe place.” Sometimes dinner is the only time family comes together and it’s tempting to use it as a time to discuss issues, but you’re right; it’s not the time or the place.

    It was this same idea of “making the table a safe place” that led me to create Golly Gee-pers! Table Manners Cards. I wanted to teach my kids good manners but didn’t want to creat conflict at the table. The game, just introduced to the market immediately won Dr. Toy awards for Best New Products for Children and Best Socially Responsible Products for Children, 2011. I would love to offer you a free sample to review and an additional one as a give a way. Please take a look at my website and see if you are interested. Also, I have just posted a blog for a game that will keep peace at the table for T-giving http://www.gollygee-pers.blogspot.com. I really feel that our websites compliment rather than compete with each other so I hope you will be open to this kind of cross promoting.

    I very much look forward to hearing from you.

    warm regards,

    Staci Ericson
    Owner/Creator, Golly Gee-pers!
    http://www.gollygee-pers.com
    925.324-4418

  • Avatar selina says:

    I have a 4-year-old daughter and one of our rules is “Knees or bottom facing forward”.

    We also talk about one thing we are grateful for. We got the idea from the book “Raising Happiness” by Christine Carter. Our daughter got into the habit of saying “you and you” meaning the parents but she surprises us too by saying she is grateful for a family outing, etc. And happily, as parents, we reflect on what we’re grateful for too. It has been nice to consistently recognize the good in our lives.

  • Avatar keywords says:

    Exactly how would you find a way to construct this type of excellent audience of commenters to your web page?

  • Avatar Beth says:

    Love these rules! I wish you would sell them as a poster! I would love to display them in my kitchen!

Leave a Reply

What is 9 + 3 ?
Please leave these two fields as-is:
IMPORTANT! To be able to proceed, you need to solve the following simple math (so we know that you are a human) :-)