Double dinners

 Do you often find yourself cooking two evening meals – one for you and your partner and one for the kids? If the answer is yes then you’re not alone, as one in three British mums are now cooking ‘double dinners’ for their families…
Busy lifestyles and fussy kids means that evening mealtimes can be a stressful affair for parents. But according to a new study, the traditional family evening meal is slowly disappearing, with a third of mums dishing up two different meals.

The reason? What with busy working days, some of us are simply too exhausted to cook for ourselves after sorting the kids out with their dinner - one in 10 mums whack a ready meal in the microwave for themselves, while one in six reheats meals that they made earlier.

A quarter of mums admitted to cooking twice in an evening to ensure that the kids eat earlier, and are bathed and ready for bed at a reasonable hour.  Some busy mums said they simply had to dish up ‘double dinners’ due to their children’s evening sports or leisure classes. But fussy eaters are also to blame as one in six mums cook separate meals for their children as they don’t like what’s served up for mum and dad.

However, a similar number of mums confessed that they preferred spending quality time with their partner over their evening meal – without the kids getting in the way.