How Long?

Dinner time….the family all gathered around the table, enjoying a delicious meal, talking about the day, laughing and enjoying one another…statistics say that families that consistently eat dinner together tend to raise healthier, more well behaved children, then families that don’t.   So, what are we doing wrong?

More often than not the Circus Family eats breakfast and dinner together as a family.   More often than not our dinner “hour” is more like a dinner hour and a half.  I wish I could say it as because of our scintillating conversations.  However, my kids are what I fear the slooooowest eaters on the eastern seaboard.  (unless it’s dessert or some other food they particularly enjoy).  But give them chicken and you can pretty much forget about doing anything other than getting ready for bed after dinner that night.

This causes great frustration to my husband and I.  The kids and I typically wait for Scott to get home so we can eat together.  This means we usually sit down around 6:00 for dinner.  If the kids stretch things out the average 1.5 hrs than we aren’t getting up till around 7:30.  Leaving us no time for that walk around the neighborhood, or trip to the park after dinner.  It’s usually just time for a little playing on the floor and then teeth brushing, fluoride, and bedtime stories.    Scott would love to have more time to spend playing with the kids rather than watching them stare at their plates. 

We have tried various tactics to shorten the time around the table.  They have worked to various degrees.  My question for you all, is “how long?”

How long does dinner typically take your family?  Am I alone on this or is it merely par for the course at this stage of our family life?