My kids asked me the other day to eat dinner with them. I begged off.
“No thanks.” I said.
It isn’t like I don’t love my kids. I do.
But what I’m looking for come dinner time, is decompression. And it’s difficult to get decompression when you’ve got an orchestra playing in the background.
great post by your wife… i feel you, BUT i was raised by two “old school” parents who insisted that all SEVEN of us eat dinner (or supper, as my father called it) together every night! as a result of strict upbringing, i require that my family sup’ together when we are all home in the evening.
one way to tone down the “noise” of the orchestra may be to add some soothing (possibly classical) music playing softly in the background, no singing at the table, no talking with your mouth full, and go back to the addage from the past that i like the best: children are to be seen and not heard! *smile*
(I prepare and eat both breakfast and dinner with my peeples and we play trivia, spelling, and word games along with making conversation about the days events.) Did it always work this way? of course not. Did it take effort and repetition to make it so? Obviously. Did we have to figure out how to manage the rival sibling ass-showing dynamic? Without a doubt.
The upshot. My son and daughter are now capable of eating meals with one another in peace – and pretty much do so on the daily.
If you don’t train and lead that orchestra, who will?
Awesome & beautiful children!
Bygbaby