To think that it’s impossible to have a 6pm family dinner time?

Well it depends. My niece is pretty dedicated to dancing at 13 years old, she dances all day on a Saturday and from 5-9pm twice a week on a weeknight. It’s a constant rush getting her places and her brother trains for football 6-8 one weeknight, plays at a weekend and swims another so that’s pretty much daily activities and that’s not even that many hobbies. If a kid gets even remotely good at something it’s going to be a twice weekly if not more affair for multiple hours.

We manage it most nights, as one of us is wfh nearly every day. Except one day when DD1 starts Brownies at 5.30 and DD2 finishes swim lesson at 5.15. DH cooks something which keeps, and he and DD1 eat at 5, and DD2 and I eat at 5.30 when get in.
I think its important to try to eat as a family as much as possible, but it's not always possible

Falafel wraps
Prawn linguine
Salmon and cous cous
goats cheese gnocchi
grilled hallumi salad
3 bean chilli from the slow cooker
dhal from the slow cooker
chicken stir fry

We might not always be bang on twenty minutes but there or there abouts.

We eat from 5.30pm onwards most days. This is due to a combination of wfh, finishing at 5pm, working locally etc. Hate eating late.

I don’t finish work til 6 weekdays so it would be impossible for us, on a weekend we have our evening meal around then.

Monday-Wednesday we can manage this, in very lucky that I work out of the house but finish at 4 latest, so I’m usually through the door (having collected DD on my way back) by 4.30/4.40 absolute latest. I then potter about usually tidying up the bombsite from having to all be up out and ready for 7.30am, and put something on for tea, DH arrives in for about 6 and we eat about 6.15. Tidy up and take DD to her one to one swim session for 6.45pm on a Monday, then Tuesdays and Wednesdays we just chill. Thursdays we don’t eat together, I run a youth project so DD comes with me or goes to my sisters who lives on the way to it. DH stays home, catches up on work and has a takeaway usually and DD and I eat on the hoof. Friday nights we go out usually or round to MILs or a local friend with kids same age. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a meal 7 days in a week we just seem to prioritise other things and love going out but our Monday-Wednesday routine is pretty solid.

How many days actually have a club. One club per child. When do they do their homework if you're doing all these clubs all the time?

WFH and we eat at 7pmish. No children though. I usually resentfully shove something in the oven once I have finished working then read my book in complete silence until it's cooked. That part I love.

It all depends on what stage you are in life. 15 years ago, no way, I didn't get home until 6pm and we ate at 7pm.

Now, I WFH, finish at 4pm. Yesterday we had our tea/dinner at 5pm although we usually eat between 5.30pm to 6pm.

of course it’s nit impossible. Everyone has different lives! We usually sit down 5-30-6pm. Never later than 6.30pm. But that’s because I don’t work and my husband is home by 5.30. The kids are older too.

Well mostly people I know who do this work from home and finish ‘at 5’ but usually have finished put a wash on walked the dog and cooked dinner by 5pm

We do manage it most days but only because I’m part time and generally home from work by 430. Even then it’s a juggle around various children’s clubs/activities. I do think it’s lovely to sit together when possible but we definitely don’t manage it every day. Do what suits you - I think if you can do it on a weekend then they will still have the benefits of that time with you.

We do but not on Tuesday when DS has football 530-630. I wfh until 5, DH gets home just after 6 and dinner is on the table.

We do it, between 5.30 and 6.30. With my first we all ate separately (with the exception being the weekend) but I had a significant lifestyle change and now we all eat together. It's a bit early for me but do it so we can all have a meal together and chat.

We never could - dh was never home before 7 anyway. 7.30 dinner was normal for many years.

We eat dinner together 3-4 times per week, other nights we're busy with clubs, activities etc.

I collect my daughter from school so home at 6pm. She's already had tea at school. I work from home so have my main meal then and just a snack for dinner, and same for my husband so we only eat as a family at the weekend.

We eat together most nights and quite a bit earlier than that - 5pm usually.

I don’t like to eat after 6pm really if just at home - got into the intermittent fasting habit (obvs will make exceptions for meals out etc).

But mostly it’s just because it suits us best, DD gets up at the crack of dawn if not before, that’s whether she goes to bed early or late. So in order to make sure she gets enough sleep we need to be starting wind down, bath and bedtime around 6ish, 6.30 latest, so she’s down and asleep for 7ish,

I work from home as does DH more often than not, he starts work at 7.30 in the morning if not earlier so is generally done by 4, so even if he’s in the office/ on site he’s home for 5ish. Im part time and officially finish work at 3, though if I need to do more then I’ll do it after DD has gone to bed.

DD is starving from the second she comes out of school and the constant snack demands don’t stop until we’ve fed her a decent dinner. It’s important to me that we eat together, DH feels the same, and I think it’s paid off in terms of how well she eats and just in general for us to sit down together.

It’s not every single night DH does work late one night and then eats on way to his sport, and one night a week I do a fitness class at 6 and can’t eat before or I’ll be sick. But 5 out of 7.

I’m sure as DD gets older timings will change, and there may be more clubs etc.

I wfh 8-4. DH wfh flexi hours. Kids have clubs at different times during the week but we probably eat together between 5 and 6, three days a week

Surely it just depends on what hours the parents work and what time the kids clubs are.

You've mentioned feeling frazzled and rushed in the evenings - does your DH do his share of cooking and ferrying around? It's all shared in this house and I never feel particularly rushed or stressed

Yeah it seems the commute is the killer for a lot of people to be honest isn’t it. A cousin of mine got so fed up of this that her and her dh bought a house around the corner from the school they both work at. The crèche for their ds is nearby too. They save an hour in the morning and sunup in the evening. And they can walk to work, I appreciate that not everyone can do that but she is so much happier! Less time in the car!

OK ....

That's 20 minutes to prep and cook a main meal?

Interested to hear what you guys are eating.

We eat dinner as a family at 5.30pm on 5 nights a week. The other 2 nights DD1 is at clubs until 6.30 or 7.30 (I make her a packed lunch). Other nights she has after school clubs at school so I pick her up at.4.30 (5 min walk home).

DD2 is too young for clubs but it will be harder to sit down together when the dcs get older, as clubs finish later for older age groups, and DD2 will do them too. But then we might eat later when they're older - DH and I used to eat later pre-kids, but switched to having an earlier dinner so we could have a family mealtime. It's worth it - we swap news about our day, plan the next few days or the weekend, talk about things we've seen or done.

I wfh pt and flexibly. DH works until 5.15 and has a 10 min bike ride commute from work (we specifically chose this area to live in so he'd have a quick commute and picked a school a short walk away).

Well I never, people can have different jobs/commitments to others…..my flabber is gasted 🙄

We sit down and eat at 5pm. I'm a SAHM and my children are home ed, so we can work to whatever timetable we need to.

I use my slow cooker, get in from work at 5 & we all eat at 5:30.