They are kind of non-existent in our house, too. I have a 13-month-old daughter and another aspect of toddlers is that one day something is delicious, the next day it’s not, and one day they eat a lot and the next day hardly anything. My husband will eat with her sometimes but he usually eats after she goes to bed, and I only eat two meals a day earlier in the day. On the weekends they usually have breakfast together. I will cook some things for them sometimes but I get kind of fed up with being the main cook, so my husband will make something simple.

My husband does not cook, so all food related things fall squarely on my shoulders. I will occasionally get caught up in a loop of “we need to eat better/healthier/cheaper” but then remind myself that having stress free evenings with my kids is more important that the perfect meal.

@Lisa – if those dieticians/food specialists want to come to your house to cook dinner, they should feel free to do so! Otherwise, I think any advice that a parent “has” to eat with a toddler or everything will fall apart is…ridiculous. My pickiest eater is no more likely to try new foods at family dinners than he is if he’s eating in front of a screen. Frankly, he’s more likely to try new foods with the screens because he isn’t paying attention or actively trying to fight it.

@Gillian – if I had to be out the door by 6 a.m. you can bet family breakfast would not be happening!

@Kristen – yep, I’m pretty sure that reading is not going to be the defining factor. I’d bet that kids who have a caring adult willing to sit with them and do just about anything for 20 minutes a day are less likely to commit murder.

This reminds me of a talk I heard on the benefits of reading aloud to children. The speaker pointed out that children who are regularly read aloud to are less likely to commit murders as adults. But I would be VERY surprised if the reading could really be credited for such an effect!