How Do You Serve Dinner & Who Cooks?

All 3

Depends on the menu

I cook. I think my husband has cooked 6 or 7 times in 11 years. He's pretty handy at ordering Pizza, but he never asks what anyone wants! Just orders what he likes and we pick off the stuff we don't or don't eat it.

We serve out of the pan/pot/dish at the counter or stove, asking along the way who wants what and how much of each. Then everyone gets a drink and sits down at the table to eat together.

I cook.
I have what I cook on the counter.
Everyone plates it themselves.
They eat.
We eat at the kitchen table or family room table. As is common, where I live.
'Family style" eating.
Local style.
Nothing formal.
Nothing rigid.

I am a SAHM.
My Husband does cook though sometimes and he can cook real well.
My kids, will also cook with Daddy... he makes it a family activity.

Plated style at the coffee table in the livingroom :)
Works for us!

Who ever lays claim to the evening cooks. It is generally 50/50 though Troy does most cooking on the weekends because he loves to BBQ and doesn't have the time during the week.

Sometimes we cook together, sometimes one of us cooks with the kids.

Everyone makes their own plates. We usually eat in the kitchen. Sometimes if there is just something we "can't" miss on TV we will eat in the family room. You can see the TV from the breakfast room but the person who sits with their back to it always gets bitchy. That is usually me because I am the last to sit. :(

Our girls are grown and gone now. Some of our best memories are having dinner with the 3 of them throughout their childhood as often as possible. Sitting down to dinner as a family every evening was a way for all of us to connect, even if it was only for 30 minutes between work, homework, soccer, dance lessons...etc. Do it now while you still have them at home! We always did family style, sitting at the table with the TV OFF!

My daughter is 4 and a half, so not quite ready to get everything she wants herself. I fix her plate first and get her set up, then hubby does his while I'm getting daughter a napkin or something to drink, then I fix my plate and we all sit down at the table together. This is how it was done with both our families when we were kids, so it only seemed reasonable to carry on tradition.

We use the plated style and we all have dinner together at the table just about every night of the week. My husband and I both work FT and I also work another job in the evenings, so the only nights that we're not all eating together it's because I am working but he eats with the kids.

I've read many times over the years that the ideal way to serve is family style. It gives people control over their own portions, lets kids feel more in control of their meal and avoids the "clean plate club" struggles. We don't have room at our table for extra serving pieces though and it's just more for me to clean, so we usually stick to plating at the counter and putting the full plates on the table.

I am surprised at how many people go with plated - and even plating their husband's food! My husband and I both grew up with family style meals and that is almost always what we do. I usually plate food for my youngest (who is 7) while I am waiting for everyone to get to the table. He is starting to serve himself sometimes.

Whoever gets home first starts dinner. We usually eat around 5:30pm. Most meals during the week I plan out on weekends so we have an idea on what to make. So whatever we make we dish up at the kitchen and eat at the dining room table. The kids help set the table (cups, utensils, milk and/or condiments). We then have each kid (7 & 4 year old) take their own plate to the table and start eating and husband and I follow with our plates.

I love sitting down as a family and talking about our day. It's the only meal during the week we can eat together at.

ETA: We usually have the kids tell us how much they want when we dish them up. Husband and I both work full time.

Plated at the table together. I always fix their plates because they are 2 and 4.5. As they get older they can have more control, but I will insist they try everything, and make sure they are not just eating tons of mashed potatoes and barely anything else... Its never too early to teach children about good nutrition!

We kind of cook together, & jump in for each other, if we get interrupted by a kid. This is a new routine for us, my husband is recently home for dinner. We fix plates, buffet style but all eat together as a family. My husband cleans up , while I make his lunch.

Eat with your kids - that's how they learn to hold their silver wear correctly and carry on a polite conversation. I work as a lunch mom at my kids school and it is really obvious who does this at home and who is allowed to eat anywhere and anyhow!! Also seeing you guys eat will get them to try new foods they might not want to eat without seeing you do it first - encourages them to eat fruits/veg (assuming you do!)

I always cook, unless it's fried chicken. My husband makes awresome fried chicken. He works and I don't, so it just makes sense for me to cook. I always fix plates. We eat WAY too much food, if we just pick and choose, or do buffet.

I'm a SAHM and we homeschool, so everyone always figured we did the family dinner thing. Nope it's a chore for me to sit at the table with the kids and we just started really doing it daily, mainly only because the 1 year old needs to be in his high chair and fed. It's a great thing to do though, even more so when you are busy and aren't with your kids all day. lunch is still plated for them unless it's pizza or something they can grab themselves. dinner I have started bringing everything to the table and at least making plates from that point. My kids still only serve themselves half the time, it's a lot more dishes and hassle and I feel there are times I don't get to sit down to eat till food is half cold doing it like this, but I don't trust my kids to carry plates from the kitchen all the way through the living room to the dining room table without making a mess (and yes they are old enough to do so).

I do all the cooking although I work, I'm home when the kids get home. I put all the food on the table so its family style, but I still dish up the kids plates and if they want seconds, they pass their plate to me since all the food is around me so I will give them another scoop. We ALL eat ALL meals at the dining room table. It has made all the difference in the world in talking with the kids and "family time". We go around the table and ask how their day was and each of us have to share our "rose and thorn", the good and bad.

I work full time and cook (unless we get take out or I am not home). My husband gets the fun job of clean up! We try to sit down together and eat as much as possible. We succeed at this 5-7 nights a week. Although I must admit about 2 of those have the TV on in the other room. Even when it's just cheese and crackers and fruit, we try to do it together. There are many rough nights - with a 5 and 3 year old - but it is an important time for us. Some nights the little ones refuse to eat (ok, nothing until breakfast other than fruit/yogurt/milk). The little ones also clear their plates 50% of the time, and they do serve themselves food from the family dishes (unless it's too hot). We've had our share of messes, but they are learning!

My DH usually cooks. We eat family style. We eat together at the table, usually the dining room. We have someone set the table but everyone gets their own drinks. We serve DD but the older kids have long served themselves. She will serve herself when she is older and maybe even cook (sometimes SD surprises us).

We feel it is important to sit together, even briefly. As the kids get older, that is sometimes all the time you get to talk to each other and there are studies that say that this time can help your children stay grounded and out of trouble. I have heard the kids' teenaged friends say they would like it if their families ate together, so I'm glad we do. It's how we grew up.

Breakfast is a hodge-podge but often lunch is a sit-down as well (usually in the kitchen) with whoever is home. Mostly lunch is a fix it yourself deal, though. Especially on weekends.

I also figure it is practice for DD so we can take her to a restaurant or someone else's home and she knows how to act. My SS once asked why he had to have manners at home, and we said, "WE don't want to see your chewed up food, either!" Urg.

It depends on our schedule and what we are doing. Our 16 yr old cheers at a couple games a week and in in compeition training so our hours vary.

A LOT of times, especially during the week, it is pot luck. I have several things made and we choose from is available.

Hubby does help me in the kitchen. Tonight he is grilling steaks and potatoes are in the oven.

Daughter is home sick for the 2nd day in a row and sick about missing school because now she will have to leave home at 6:15 to meet teachers before school to catch up. It sucks being sick!

We go out often as well, of course we sit together at that time.

Weekends, depends on what is going on as well. Sunday night is mostly our family night. On family night, I put serving bowls on the table, set the table and we all eat at the table. My breakfast table, not formal DR table.

We both work FT outside the home, but I do 99% of the cooking. Husband does all the grilling though, because I don't know how to build a fire in the grill! We eat at the kitchen table, family style. But, if I've made something like stew or chili in my big Le Creuset pot, it stays on the stove top for serving since it's so heavy.

I'm glad you're trying to transition to eating as a family. My son is 16 now, and since he was in a high chair we have all sat down to dinner together. I think it's really important for families to eat together as much as possible.

I told this story in another recent post, but I'll tell it again. My niece and nephew once mentioned something about "family dinner" and my son asked "what's family dinner?" They said, "that's when we all have dinner together at the dinner table". He replied, "oh, we just call that dinner". I nearly died laughing!

Our dinners vary, totally depending on our schedules.
We use all styles depending on the dinner served.
The one constant is that we all eat at the table together.

We do a mixture of family and plated depending on the meal. We always sit down as a family, though occasionally I sit down with the kids 5-10 minutes before hubby gets home.

I do the bulk of the cooking during the week, on weekend, hubby's cooks.

One caveat, no one picks and chooses during family style at our house. We all eat the same food, and everyone gets some of everything.

I stay at home. I do the cooking, gladly. I LOVE cooking. I like to prepare the dishes and have them- food already on. Especially if we have company, I think plating can be very attractive, as well as I have young kids, and not only do I know better of what amount they are capable of eating, but also, the younger ones are just too young to serve their own plates. If I make something that is more of a buffet-style dinner, then everyone can make their plates... but I have a big dining table, and all the food is on the table, not in the kitchen.

My husband can make about 3 things, pancakes, waffles & cereal. So other than when we do "backwards" days (breakfast for dinner), I do the cooking. We usually plate everything in the kitchen, and eat together at the dining table. We'll bring some of the healthy sides to the table, so if someone wants seconds, they only really have the veggies, salad available.
Both my husband & I grew up having dinner with our parents & siblings as a family. We have a 4.5 year old & a 10 month old & 2 more-than-fulltime working parents. For us, dinner time is one of the only times we can sit together, talk about our day, tell our kids funny stories, and just be together as a family. We eat dinner almost every night together. Even if it's just mac n cheese & fast dinner, we still eat together as a family.

I do 85% of the cooking. My husband doesn't know how to make a grilled cheese. I am not kidding.

I am starving by 5pm!

Plated style

I am very fortunate to stay at home so I do all the cooking, hubby helps to clean up, wouldn't want him to cook anyway. We plate all the food and they are then called to the table. We feel (and I'm sure others will disagree) that this helps from us wanting 2nd helpings, not that any of us are overweight, but not something I want my kids to get in the habit of doing. We feel that when the food is sitting on the table right in front of you, begging you to eat more, than you are more likely to do so.

Dinner is always eaten at the table with no TV on!!!!!! We have always done this and our kids don't know any other way. The only time we don't is if we have sports stuff and we are coming and going at different times or if my hubby is out of town, then sometimes me and the kids will sit at bar to eat or sometimes we still eat at the table.

Remember this....the table is a great place to get to know you're kids.

I cook always on the weekdays.

When it's just the 3 of us (husband, me, 3.5 yr old), it depends on the meal.
A lot of the time we do buffett style from the stove (I leave the whole chicken on top of the stove, so leave the sides on the stove too).

But sometimes we'll set all the food at the table and serve ourselves (tacos, it's easy enough to put the meat, beans, toppings on the table).

I always make my son's plate.

WIth my kids ages 4,2, and 1, its plated and high chair style for now. Our 4 year old will switch over to Family soon. I also plate my Husbands for him, as for the cooks it was always me, but I was failing to get it done on time, or properly, so he did take some of the duties in the kitchen for me and I love him all the more for it. I still put it on a plate for him though. We eat almost every meal at the dinner table with no distraction, including breakfast, then only time I break down on that tradition is lunches when the kids want to watch something specific, and I am too tired to get them to the table :)

I have done most of the cooking. Now that I am home by 3:00, I do all the cooking. Everyone dishes up their own food in case I give too much or too little. We eat at the kitchen table together as much as possible. We usually eat about 5:30-6:00. When I used to get home at 6:00, we would eat at 8:00 or 9:00.