Is it actually possible to "enjoy" dinner time with 4 children?

Are you picking your battles? Or nit picking.........I try to remind my kids of their table manners, but I don't always harp on them. Burping at the table is not accepted, not using their utensils, etc........but not wiping their mouths, putting their elbows on the table, etc........are forgivable offenses.

I really try to not sweat the small stuff.

EDIT: LOL at the 6 year old.....my 5 year old is also notorious for this.........I would set a limit on what topics can be discussed at the table......Limit it to what happened during your days, school work, afterschool activities, etc. Tell them they are allowed to discuss, but not argue and they must ask permission to speak, so maybe you can keep the heated stuff to a minimum.

With the six year old crawling under the table, I would just simply tell him, when he moves from his chair, he is finished. And mean it.....take his plate!

Good luck! It sounds like you have a lively household!

We had a switch back in February when DH got a second Job. He used to pick the kids up and get home at 4, and have dinner ready by the time I walked in the door. Now, I pick them up and get home by 6 and do dinner alone (most nights, sometimes he'd home when his schedule permits, but rarely). Honestly, we have been doing more take-out than usual - about once a week now, which was never the norm for us. What I have started doing though that has been a GREAT help, is I actually cook dinner the night before, after the kids are in bed, and then reheat in the microwave next day at dinner time. This doesn't work for all meals, of course, but I do casseroles, chicken and veggies, lasagna or any pasta, Taco meat (so all I have to do is heat and stuff the next day), chili, rice. I've also taken to buying fresh cut fruit salad from the produce section for a healthy side dish that I do nothing more than spoon out. ETA: don't bother trying any of Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals either. IDK why, but every one has taken me an hour and a half, and none tasted very good anyway. And for me, anything from frozen, even if it's been in the fridge all day, takes too long in the oven. Just an example... Your chicken fajitas...Do all this the night before: slice the bell pepper & onion and saute it, then add the chicken to heat it. Along w/ that, shred the lettuce, dice tomatoes, and cook some rice, and make the salsa. let it cool, pack in tupperware in the fridge. Then all you have to do is reheat, assemble and eat. Viola!

If setting rules doesn't work for your family, try using bribes. Who ever is the best behaved gets to choose what's for dinner tomorrow, or gets to pick out desert that night... or each kid starts each meal with 3 points... and each time they act out, they lose a point. They need 1 point left to have desert. Once they lose all 3 points they are excused from the table. Once you start this system, give no more warnings. Whatever you choose, you need to be firm and stand behind it. A common problem a lot of parents seem to have is they give tons of warnings and rarely follow through.

OK...I might suffer a lot of "backlash" for this, but this works for me. I have 4 children also...(I feel for you) 15, 13, 12, and 6. Something that we have started doing is we mind our manners for the majority of meals and then 1 night a week we have "disgusting" night. (if there is something you absolutely can't stand make it clear that isn't an option.) My kids chew with their mouths open, talk over each other and talk with food in your mouth. I try to serve something like spaghetti or sloppy joes. They know they can't make a huge mess, but they get to slurp their noodles or their soup and I get a night off from the yelling. It's actually improved their table manners at other times because they look forward to these nights. Good luck and just know that you are not alone.

I am not certain, but if you want to change their bad behavior, reward them when they do something good. I learned this in my psychology class. When someone is treated good or rewarded for doing something good, they want to do it more often, so they stop their bad habits and keep doing the good ones. For example, if you see that they have good table manners, tell them, "wow, I'm impressed with your manners!", and give them a hug. When they do something wrong, you can excuse them from the table like you do, but if they continue to be rewarded for their good habits, such as the hug in the example above, they'll cut out their bad habits, and continue their good habits. Also, during dinner, ask them about their day at school, or talk about something they like. If they become interested in the conversation, they may stop thier bad habits, and may not even realize it. This also helps because it is like "family time" together.

Before dinner discuss rules and what will happen if they cant follow the rules (ie consequences they will be removed from table etc.) then if one of them misbehaves, just follow through

lol I only have 2 and we always end up screaming for something 4 and 7. Good luck!!

pick your battles. you sound like youre letting your kids get to you too much. losing your appetite? thats too much. if you sound like an "angry judge judy" then you sound like you need to calm down. its just dinner...

my kids are 3yrs old and 4 months...no problems yet but i see what i have to look foward to! Scaaaarrryyyy:(

If they are that bad, tell them to sit down, shut up, and eat!