dinner question RE: 4 YO

[Thursday Girl]

So our 4 year old will come to the table but she tends not to even start eating until everyone else has finished. Then everyone else is done and we leave...and I feel bad for leaving her at the table alone, but I also don't think we should have to sit there while she finishes when she doesn't even get started until we are done or almost done. I don't have a problem with talking or discussion at the table, in fact often times we play different dinner games.

so how would you solve this problem, respectfully towards everyone involved? (she has been doing this since she was little)

[ssh]

My 4.5 year old eats slow so she's the last person eating. She often gets up and down during the meal too. We do wait awhile and talk while she's eating. Sometimes we move her food to her small table in the living room so she can finish there instead of alone at the kitchen table. My DH eats really fast so I'm barely starting when he finishes. Her ability to sit for a meal has improved greatly, so we expect the nibbling at dinner for over an hour will go away as she continues to mature. I have noticed that a few foods she eats faster and some she really seems to like better once they are cold.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

Think about what your reponse would be if she was finished first and wanted to get down and play. Would you require her to stay while other people finish or would you let her get up?

Also, is she upset to be alone at the table? Does she want folks to stay?

Where is the table? Our table is in the kitchen, so if ds was still eating we could be doing dishes/cleaning up and still hanging out.

I would be inclined to stay at the table if I didn't have something else I needed to do (homework etc) because we tend to sit at the table for sometimes hours after dinner and chat (not ds but many of the adults in the house), but if she didn't care if I got up and left, I'd probably leave her at the table if I had other things I needed/wanted to do.