Not eating as a family. Stopping for 1 hour

[NorthCyd]

And this is why it's a tradition I don't worry about. It wasn't common for most Americans until sometime after WW2, when we really pushed people towards that single-income, eat dinner as a family, take family vacations, and all sort of model.

Just because it wasn't a nightly thing doesnt mean people didn't still do it when they could. Most people didn't have the means to have a dining room and table to accommodate their large families. Thats not the case for most people today. People dining together is as old as civilization. It's not like it was a novel idea after WW2.

 

[CycloneErik]

Just because it wasn't a nightly thing doesnt mean people didn't still do it when they could. Most people didn't have the means to have a dining room and table to accommodate their large families. Thats not the case for most people today. People dining together is as old as civilization. It's not like it was a novel idea after WW2.

Actually, it was a novel idea for most families, and not really pushed as the norm until then.

 

[larry]

This was the first thing I thought of when I started reading this thread....

 

[Cyched]

Actually, it was a novel idea for most families, and not really pushed as the norm until then.

Pfft, what do you know about history?

 

[Gunnerclone]

Actually, it was a novel idea for most families, and not really pushed as the norm until then.

at what point in history did pooping in front of your spouse become the norm?

 

[NorthCyd]

at what point in history did pooping in front of your spouse become the norm?

 

[NorthCyd]

Actually, it was a novel idea for most families, and not really pushed as the norm until then.

I get that Rockwellian nightly dinners may not have been established as some kind of important family tradition until after WW2. But common sense tells me that people who had the means ate meals together for the same reason people have always eaten meals together, conveniance. It's why basically every institution like military, school, prison, etc feed people together and the same reason I feed my family all at the same time, its easier.

 

[cowgirl836]

at what point in history did pooping in front of your spouse become the norm?

what does it say if I will not poop in front of my spouse but I will poop in front of my toddler??? I've known the toddler only a fraction of the time I've know spouse.

 

[cowgirl836]

I get that Rockwellian nightly dinners may not have been established as some kind of important family tradition until after WW2. But common sense tells me that people who had the means ate meals together for the same reason people have always eaten meals together, conveniance. It's why basically every institution like military, school, prison, etc feed people together and the same reason I feed my family all at the same time, its easier.

I think for a lot of more well to do families, the children would have been eating separately. Maybe the same time, but not the same room.

 

[DeereClone]

And this is why it's a tradition I don't worry about. It wasn't common for most Americans until sometime after WW2, when we really pushed people towards that single-income, eat dinner as a family, take family vacations, and all sort of model.

So eating a meal together as a family right-wing propaganda? I also call BS on the post WW2 stuff - it’s been a long standing tradition to dine with others, and it would make the most sense to dine with those you live with. I also have old notes from my ancestors that talked about how the women cooked while the men worked outside and when it was time to eat they all sat down together. This would have been multiple families living very close to each other that pooled together for labor/farm resources and resources when cooking and preparing meals.

 

[DeereClone]

I think it’s hard to have a family supper every night when both spouses work outside the home. One of the negative consequences of the modern culture we’ve become accustom to.

 

[Cdiedrick]

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2019/10/work-its-whats-for-dinner/599770/

My oldest child is 38. My youngest 23. We always required supper, no matter what time. We all sat down, ate well and talked or maybe rushed thru it, but we all sat down, and talked or had or explanations of coming or past events and plans. I hate to sound old but it was kind of cool. I see none of my kids passing the art of supper on to their kids. Not a complaint or a suggestion for others to follow. Just an older persons recollections.

I was raised that way and am doing the same with our kids. Communication with a family is key.

 

[Clone83]

Growing up on Iowa farms in the 1960s and 1970s, I recall having dinner on non school days, like summer, and supper in the evening with family, as the norm. My dad would sometimes have dinner in the field, but usually the whole family was there. Today, an ever lower percentage of people farm and the industry has changed. With bigger farms and fewer people, consolidated school districts, and longer commutes, it is perhaps even more difficult for people who live in rural Iowa to, than for those who live in town, suburb, or city. Not that it is easy for most people or any longer the norm.

There was a pretty good special on IPTV 15-20 years ago where they interviewed people photographed by a former Iowa State student, from the 1920s through the 1960s, including about changes from that time to today.

The People in the Pictures: Stories from the Wettach Farm Photos



My parents were the youngest in their families and my grandparents lived long, so I can relate to much of what this video is about. They talk some about food and changes in Iowa agriculture since then.

Meals of course were pretty important anyone doing much farm work.

If you watch the video to the end, one might draw an analogy with what the OP is about.