if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

How do you handle dinner at home? Do you make them stay at the table until everybody is finished eating, or do you let them get down to play once they're done, while you finish eating?
DS is 3.5- and he eats like a bird lol usually within 5 minutes of sitting down, hes likes "I'm done. Can I go play?" as long as we feel like hes eaten enough, we let him- then DH and I can finish eating in peace HAHA obviously at a restaurant is different- he stays in his seat the whole time there...
BUT my friend with a daughter about the same age recently posted on FB about the sticker chart they're using with their DD. and one of the things they're working on is having her stay in her seat until everybody is done eating.
to me, as long as hes playing nicely by himself and DH and I can finish eating in peace, I don't mind. what does everybody else do?

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DS is 2...and honestly it depends on the day and his mood. For the most part we try to have him sit as long as he can and until we are all done...he is a slow eater so that helps :) But when he is itching to get out of his seat or doesn't really eat we either give him our phone with a you tube video or let him play near the table. Not worth the fight to keep him sitting especially after a long day at work :/

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DS is 2 and lately he won't sit for more than 5-10 minutes. So when's he's done I just let him go bc by that time of the day I am DONE lol
I also feed him a few bites while he's playing, I always said I'd never be that mom that chases her kid to feed him, but it is what it is.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

my 3yo is a pain with eating. I would say 1/2 the time he wont eat and sometimes I dont even make him come to the table. Because if I force him it usually results in a tantrum and DH and I are stressed instead of enjoying dinner.

My 6yo eats with us. If he eats too quick I will make him sit with us and tell us about his day before exiting. But unless we are at a restaurant I dont make htem stay with us the whole time because DH and I usually sit and talk about our days.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

i have a 4 yr old; as long as she's eaten something substantial (i find she's "done" when she doesnt really like what we put in front of her), we're fine with letting her go play. Most of the time she wants a "treat" after dinner, so that extends dinner time for her anyway.

As long as they are eating, I dont see a problem with letting them go play - at this age their attention spans are so short and its a potential battle that i dont want to deal with, its not that important to me at this point in life.

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DD is 2. Sometimes she'll sit and eat with us and sometimes she'll sit, eat, get up, run around...repeat.
I let her do her thing.

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DD is 2 and sits until DH and I are done. She doesn't really put up a fight so it's not a big deal. I wouldn't want to get up (when I likely just sat down) to clean her up, not to mention that she'd be dragging us to go play with her of course.

I don't think it's a big deal when they're young but as she gets older it would be important to me that we all sit together to catch up at the end of the day.

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

We have extended our expectations as DS has grown. At 3 he would be allowed to get up and play when he was finished. We gradually extended our expectation for him sitting at the table until about 8yo when we expected him to sit with us through the meal. We try to make meal time family discussion time, sometimes it turns into study time where we quiz him for an upcoming test. Its just the 3 of us so that makes it a little easier.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

My son is the exact same age and I handle it the exact way. I'm not a "you finish everything on your plate" mom, yet I don't offer any alternatives, so frequently he's done in five minutes. Look, I'm a SAHM with three kids...it's rare to get a word in edgewise with my own husband sometimes so I'm almost glad when he leaves the table in five minutes!

We go out to eat on a regular basis, and he knows not to wander around then, so I'm not worried...

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DD is 3 and we let her leave the table whenever she wants...she usually comes back and picks a little more when she checks on us but its nice to have a few minutes of quiet to eat with DH

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

It's family time for us.

Kids sit through meals & when we finish (usually 30 minutes), they get a treat like cheese sticks, strawberries, bread, on a special day ice cream. Kids are 2& 3.

Honestly, they stay with us, talk to us, hug us & climb on our laps when they are done eating. DD likes to try to feed me.

We both work though, so all time is precious.

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DD is almost 3 and she sits at the table with us until we are all done eating. She is usually done before us, but I tell her she has to wait till the rest of us are done. It's our family time to talk and just sit. Most of the time she continues eating while I'm cleaning up even after she said she was done.

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

My DS is 2 and we eat as a family or sometime he will start a few minutes before us if my DH is running a few minutes late. He sits there the entire time but he never finishes before us.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

We have twins that are 2 and a 4 year old. We all eat fairly quickly so we're usually done at the same time but the kids have to all wait for one another to finish. Once they are all done, the 3 kids can get up together which gives DH and I a little time to chat but usually we'll be cleaning up at that point anyway.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

DC is 3. We all stay seated until everyone is done. Always have. That's how my mom did it, too.

Message edited 5/14/2014 2:05:03 PM.

Re: if you have 2,3,4 year old (or older i guess)

They stay seated until we are done then they get a "treat" while we clean up