The experiment continues with recording straight-to-tape with the girls costarring in an episode featuring our mealtime rules. For those that don’t wish to watch the video, the list of rules are below the video.

Holidays are tough. In addition to all of the stress around the actual holiday, you have two weeks of all of the kiddos at home from school, daycare, or whatnot, which means instead of one meal all together plus a rushed breakfast, you have three meals a day.

These rules help us keep order at the table.

1. Meals last for 30 minutes. We aren’t going to drag out a meal until the end of time only to have a fight when “I’m not finished!”
2. We sit in our chairs the entire time (but allowed to go to the bathroom). Meal time isn’t recess. It isn’t free time. Keep your butt in the chair.
3. Enjoyment doesn’t define meal time. If you don’t like something, that’s fine. Still have to sit there.
4. You get what you get and you don’t get upset. Since O has allergies, sometimes, there are variations within the meal. O might get cherry soy yogurt while the rest get vanilla “moo” yogurt. You get the food that you get and don’t throw a fit if it is different than what someone else has.
5. Seconds after firsts. They have to eat the gross veggies before getting seconds of their favorite.
6. No playing at the table. If they’re using the forks as drumsticks or being goofy with their milk cups, it will no longer be their silverware or cups. Too many spilled glasses of water or milk.
7. No whining. Table time is family time and whining isn’t allowed.
8. Keep it to yourself: If you don’t like your food, don’t voice that during the meal. When one kid proclaims that green beans are hell on a fork, none of them will take another bite.
9. No dessert if you skip food.
10. A big fit at the table puts you in the chair. Booster chairs will come out of retirement if you’re throwing a big fit.
11. No snack if you didn’t eat breakfast. The kids were skipping breakfast and cashing in during the morning snack.