Rules At The Dinner Table

1. Donā€™t talk with food in your mouth
2. No elbows on the table
3. Wait to start eating until everyone is served their meal
4. Must eat everything on the plate
5. Ask permission to leave the table when you're done eating
 
Eat everything on your plateā€¦..could not be excused until the plate is cleaned. Once my Mother cooked stuffed green bell peppers for dinner and I tried it but was gaging and couldnā€™t finish itā€¦ā€¦needless to say I was sent to bed for not finishing.
 
Jazzy1 said:
1. Donā€™t talk with food in your mouth
2. No elbows on the table
3. Wait to start eating until everyone is served their meal
4. Must eat everything on the plate
5. Ask permission to leave the table when you're done eating
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Oh nr 3 is that a thing? I dated a bossy guy very briefly who immediately tried to take over. He told my son, who was hungry, that he was not allowed to take a bite before I took one, but I was still in the kitchen and like: Go ahead. Go eat! Son did not approve with this weird rule and to nag him he put the bunny on the table. His dad had to laugh when he told him and said: You don't have to listen to that man.
 
Eat what the pot gives you, don't smack and finish your plate, but if it was really disgusting like beetroots or Brussels' sprouts we could throw apple sauce on it. I found out that you can hold your nose closed from the inside and then it was more like it had no taste.

No elbow on the table. Use knive and fork. I saw that that used to make sense. It never made sense to me. Why no elbow? Who cares?

The "no elbows on the table" rule originated in the Middle Ages when dining tables were unstable, often just boards placed on trestles; leaning on them could tip the entire meal over. This practice ensured stability, prevented food spills, and maintained proper, upright posture rather than slouched, uncivilized dining.
 
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As a kid we never ate at the dinner table, with the exception of maybe a holiday dinner. There really wasn't an official dinner time, when my mom cooked it was a help yourself right from the stove, then it was leftovers for a few days, eat when you feel like it.

When I married and had children I made family dinner a priority, I wanted that time to share and be together. My dinner time rules were simple, we sit down daily as a family and talk, no distractions allowed. Manners and good conduct were important, the kids ate what was served on the table but I never piled food on their plates and forced them to eat it all, as long as they ate balanced servings I was happy.
 
jim_slim said:
Eat everything on your plateā€¦..could not be excused until the plate is cleaned. Once my Mother cooked stuffed green bell peppers for dinner and I tried it but was gaging and couldnā€™t finish itā€¦ā€¦needless to say I was sent to bed for not finishing.
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I hated stew.. (stewed meat) hated it, it made me gag, but regardless it was dished up to me. I would sit there at the table unable to eat it..then I wouldn't be excused from the table, and made to sit there until it got cold. Then next morning it would be served up to me stone cold thick with grease on top, and of course I wouldn't eat it, so I;d get a hiding before school...
 
Eat everything on your plate. We had to sit there until we did. I remember slipping a boiled egg into the pocket of my robe one time so I wouldn't have to eat it. I forgot about it and a few days later I was wondering what was causing the smell until I remembered the egg in my robe. :giggle:
 
hollydolly said:
I hated stew.. (stewed meat) hated it, it made me gag, but regardless it was dished up to me. I would sit there at the table unable to eat it..then I wouldn't be excused from the table, and made to sit there until it got cold. Then next morning it would be served up to me stone cold thick with grease on top, and of course I wouldn't eat it, so I;d get a hiding before school...
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Thank God I'm raised vegetarian. The worst I had to deal with was beetroots. I felt so sorry for my friends who were forced to eat meat they didn't like. One friend liked almost nothing. Also no vegetables. When she came over she always got salad from my mom, the only thing she liked and no meat of course. She loved that. I was this extreme convert everyone vegetarian and would say to her that it was soooooooooooooooooo pitiful for the poor sweet animals. So she decided to become a vegetarian and her mother couldn't force her anymore. Her mother hated me LOL.
 
Jazzy1 said:
1. Donā€™t talk with food in your mouth
2. No elbows on the table
3. Wait to start eating until everyone is served their meal
4. Must eat everything on the plate
5. Ask permission to leave the table when you're done eating
Click to expand...
These were our rules only there was no talking allowed at all at any time during mealtime.
If it was a meal that I didnā€™t like I had to stay there until I ate it. I might not finish it until bedtime or not at all and it was served up the next day until I did eat it. My parents were hideous about their dinner rules. Luckily we made our own breakfast and lunch so made stuff we liked.
 
We only had two rules:

First, nobody was required or forced to eat anything we didn't like, but if we put something on our plate we were expected to eat it. If we weren't sure if we liked something or how hungry we were, only take a little and could get more if we wanted it.

Second, meals were at mealtimes, and we were expected to show up at the table unless we had a good reason not to- went a friend's house, after-school activities, etc.
 
Dr.Colosso said:
The old generation was so extreme that their kids did the opposite. Here have some nuggets and an icecream, as long as you eat something. But now Gen Z, the young ones, go against their way too easy going parents and want to only eat healthy.
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Well, we didnā€™t have children but if we did we wouldnā€™t treat them like that. Having said that it wouldnā€™t have been ā€˜do whatever you like ā€˜ either. If our kids didnā€™t like something we made we wouldnā€™t force them to eat it.
 
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