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

My DS17 has dinner anywhere from 3-5pm. DS18 and GF 5-7pm and my husband 7-8pm.

We never have dinner together. And i dont eat dinner!

Im used to it now.

Edit - i make it all, unless its takeaway and yes i work full-time, but mostly from home

Well of course people do because not everyone works 9-5pm away from home with kids going to after school clubs!

We eat at 5pm ish everyday with two kids (one in school but no after school clubs). One a shift worker (so not always in for dinner but if on early or day off during week they are ) and one part time wfh with hours that suit school pick up.

I have two 6yr olds who eat with their nanny about 5pm. DH and I are home at 6:15, by which point they are bathed and in pyjamas, and we take them to bed at 7ish. DH and I then cook and eat dinner at 8:30ish.

I don’t love eating late but I do enjoy meals alone with DH as it’s nice to spend that time together. At the weekend we have a family meal at 6ish.

We had a life like that, never sitting down, always here there and everywhere. Since COVID we sit down and eat together at 6pm 5 nights a week.

Our kids (8 and 10) have a full roster of activities. But the 10 year old plays 3 instruments so lessons are all here. The 8 year old plays a lot of sport (and DH coaches the team) so that night it's 6.30pm. Things like chess and coding are straight after school and finish at 5pm. DH picks the kids up from after school club on his way home and they are home 5.45pm and dinner is on the table.

I WFH and when I don't, I use the slow cooker. Otherwise it's the Air Fryer. One pot dishes prepped in the morning.

Just organised.

I LOVE eating together. We talk about the day and then we watch TV together, read or play games after dinner before bed.

We eat together between 6.30 and 7.30pm each evening, the timing is dependent on what clubs are happening. My DC are now 11, 13 and 15 and I’m keen for us to continue having a family evening meal through their teens as a means of connecting now that they all spend more time in their rooms/out with friends. Our hours of work vary, so depending on whose home first, then they’re responsible for the meal. I meal plan as I hate thinking yo what to cook on the night. My next goal is to get the kids to take a bit of responsibility for cooking - maybe do one meal a week? Not sure if anyone else does this…?

We eat about 5.30. How…

office days see dH/I working 7.45-4.30 ish.
Someone is nearly always wfh/off and cooking by 5pm (often the returning home one picks up the kids from after school club on the way).

between meetings for voluntary stuff in the evening and various other commitments, one of rhe adults is out in the evening by 7pm most nights.

of course the other side of this is the mornings where we’re trying to get five people out the door by 7.30.

Me and DH work from home and live a 2 min walk from school, after school clubs end at 4.15pm.

DH finished work at 4pm, I finish at 5pm so it's pretty easy to have dinner cooked and be eating by 6pm.

We only really eat together as a whole family at the weekends. I don’t get home from work until 7pm a couple of days a week. Tuesdays, DS has training at 6pm, Wednesday DD has swimming at 5.30 and Friday she has gymnastics 6-7.30. So we tend to fit in the kids meals around their activities and we eat later.

We manage it some days. There the days where the kids do breakfast club rather then afterschool. So DH drops them I get in early then pick them up at 330. Home for some chill out time and dinner at 530 as DH gets in the door. But only manage that a couple days a week

Other days the slow cooker is handy so even if we get home at 5.30 / 6ish dinner is ready to go or may just need some rice or something cooked.

I couldn't eat as early as 6. We're all late eaters here; we either have hobbies for the kids after work/school or just want some time to all relax together or go for a walk, do homework, etc.

Earliest we eat is about 7ish. Sometimes DH and I still aren't hungry, so we give the kids dinner and sit with them and have a cup of tea while they eat. Weekends and we're all usually happy to sit down together by 8/8.30.

At the risk of sounding like a 4 year old we eat at 5! I wfh self employed and dh works 8-4.30 home at 5. being home i have dinner ready, two days a week kids have clubs at 4 so i have a slow cooker dinner in and just have to boil pasta/rice at 5. We both clear up so by half five the rest of the evening is ours, 2 hours with the kids to play then they go up and we have from half 7. We are lucky with the schedule but also its down to dh changing hours at work and pre planning with slow cooker

I wfh 2 days a week, and do 7:30-16:00 in the office the other 3. DH wfh full time.

We always sit down to eat by 6 at the latest. One day a week DD1 goes to rainbows so we actually eat at more like 5 - that day is always something really easy like jacket potatoes that we can put in the oven while we're still working because that takes no time at all.
Other days one of us might put something in the slow cooker during our lunch break. Or we'll have batch cooked at the weekend. Or I'm home and done with work by 16:30 so can easily cook.

If we both worked out of the house in jobs with no flexitime, it wouldn't happen.

We've always eaten at 6pm. But I worked part time, often finished by 5pm and batch cooked, and had everything prepped, so it was easy.

We don’t

I’m home by 4.30 and eat around then
dh eats when he gets in about six
(I cook for him but leave it for him often it’s batch cooked)
kids eat at childminder and then supper about 8 at home

We sit down and eat at six or just before some nights in the week but twice a week DS goes to after-school club and having had porridge with fruit or overnight oats for breakfast and a hot lunch he then eats his own bodyweight in sandwiches and things like flapjack at ASC, so might only want a yoghurt and fruit when he gets home, if that's the case DH and I will eat after he's in bed. I use the slow cooker, or batch cook and just have to do rice/pasta/veg which is all quick, or we'll have stir fry or something fast.

Neither of us has a long commute though, and both condense hours so I'm off Mondays and DH Fridays so can do pick up put something on then do clubs so it's ready when we get home. I also often WFH one day a week so will put jacket potatoes in and then when I get home from pick up around 5:45 I can just pan fry some salmon/seabass and steam some veg.

DS has activities straight after school or 4-5 so it works

If you want to make multiple sitting dinners easier then go for something that can be kept warm and dished up at different times.

All in one casseroles, curry with microwave rice, chilli and tortilla chips (chilli in oven), oven risotto etc.

We have dinner between 17:30/18:30 depends on the day. If I wfh I make a start on the dinner on my lunch break. If I’m in the office we will usually have something I’ve already made out the freezer - I get it out in the morning before I leave. Over making dinners is your friend, making lasagne, pies, chilli, curry, soup, sauce bases, vegetable bakes - make double and throw it in the freezer for next week or the week after. They freeze well, easy to heat up and cuts back on food waste. I like to try and avoid processed food for the children and so don’t keep a stash of chicken nuggets or anything like that. On Friday we will eat a bit later and the children make their own pizzas, I freeze the dough I make into 3 or 4 packs and then use it in the upcoming weeks. Frozen veg is great if you’re in a hurry. Once you get into making extra it’s easy to have a stocked freezer for those busy evenings when you’re rushing around. I will cook ahead on the weekends too, but depends what we’re up too - appreciate that all the cooking isn’t up everyone’s street and some people want to prioritise other things .

I eat with the children but it can be anytime between 4:15pm (the busiest clubs day starting at 5pm and back at 8pm) to 6:15pm.

Any later they get past it and don't eat properly.

We eat just after 5 But I'm a SAHM and my husband is home by then.
On a couple of days a week the children have activities which end at 6 so we eat when they get back.

We don’t sit down together due to work, clubs etc. Kids eat at the table together and we eat later. At weekends we do eat lunch and dinner together but life at the moment isn’t conducive to weekdays. I can’t get stressed about it.

We all sit and eat at 5:30pm. Made it a priority, but lucky as can wfh and demand flexible working

When I had school aged kids, we usually ate around 6.30, and together was no problem. We did have plenty of after school activities but they were generally before 6 and after 7, so it naturally fit.

Now that they are older it's harder as everyone runs on different work and uni schedules. Sometimes they cook for themselves. So it's all over the place.

Not a chance in my house, no.

Barely finished work at 6, even WFH no way diner can be ready that early.
Kids usually at one club or other, they are not home so early!

I don't even want diner at 6. It's my own fault, but I am really not hungry first thing, so have breakfast mid-morning, lunch early afternoon when I feel like it, I can't eat again late afternoon!