My sister always told me (jokingly) HAVING ONE CHILD DOESN'T COUNT. (she has 4 children) Having one child is easy? For what is worth it, it is easier to get children on a routine the more children you have. #1 Because you kinda have to, #2 They tend to resist less if others have to do it too, whether it be chore or go to bed at a certain time etc.... I was never and I am still not good at routines or consistency..........working on it though!
So typically my husband, my son & I ate dinner around 8:00 or 9:00 for many years for some reason or another. For many years my son played sports and eating dinner before 8:00 or 900 was sometimes impossible. Well not always, but that's my excuse anyway.
When my son was in Junior High he didn't get out of school until 4:30 so he grabbed a sandwich and then we where off to football practice @ 5:30 then 2 hours of practice so we did not get home until 8:00, so dinner wasn't at least till 8:30 unless we grabbed fast food on the way home. In earlier years on and off we also got home late and ate dinner late, depending on what sport he played Again, I think if I had more children I would have made dinner earlier and then feed most of the kids and just saved a plate for the others after practice or what have you. Plus, I am a procrastinator and if we needed something for dinner I usually waited to the last minute to
run to the store making dinner later than normal.
It wasn't until adult hood that my son (who is 27 now) revealed to me that he thought all families ate dinner at 8:00 or 9:00. He told me that in High School when he began to hang out with guys at their houses, then stay for dinner. He began to notice dinner for them was around 6:00 and discovered we were just the "WEIRD ONES" that ate dinner so late. Of course I had to laugh at that one.
Well, my son has been out of the house for almost 10 years (with a little boomeranging in between). You would think I might get back to eating dinner earlier. NOPE! I have developed a bad habit over all these years and it didn't stop after my son moved out of the house.
It is going to be a hard habit to break!!
Now you might be thinking "Oh its not good to eat that late". Dr's and health experts say don't eat anything past 6:00. Well that's crap. The reason people are always saying this is because you are typically only supposed to eat 1800 calories a day.
So most experts & Dr's assume that if you eat after 6:00 you are consuming more calories then you need. Well that could be true but I tend to eat a late lunch also making me not hungry for dinner until 8:00. So I don't think I eat anymore any other families eating dinner @ 6:00.
Alright so back to My Weekly Goal. My husband doesn't typically get home from work until at least 6:30 do he is not ready to eat dinner to at least 7:00. I could make that my goal but I think I will try for 7:30 no later, well I can try. I intend to make start dinner around 6:30 or 7:00. I make quick dinners as I am not a big on cooking so usually only take me 30 minutes to cook.
It takes 28 days for something to become a habit.
So we shall see how it goes. Wish me Luck!
6/23/15 Update: Monday Dinner was @ 7:57, Tuesday Dinner was @ 7:22
6/28/15 Update: Wed Dinner @ 7:00, Thursday @ 8:30 Friday @ 8:00 Sat @9:30
Well not so good but I'll keep trying!!
IT TAKES 28 DAYS FOR SOMETHING TO BECOME A HABIT!!
