In my house, after 30 minutes all plates are taken away (I only have issues with one of my current kids being a slow eater from time to time) - meal time is over and we go on with our day per usual.

There is a rule of "no chatting" during meal times because it causes major distraction and also causes the kids to talk with their mouths full of food, which is rude.
We ask eachother how our food is, ask for seconds, and make basic small talk - but there's no actual conversations during meal times. Works for us.

Reply