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

My children eat at 6 pm, myself 7 pm and dh around 9 pm. We all got our different rythms and different things we like to eat. I sit down with my children while they eat though to talk.

Why up so early?

Nope. I think when mine were very small and had eaten at nursery I could just make them a quick snack, but even then it would probably have been after 6. Now they are 12 and 14, between work and clubs we never eat before 7.30. Often I'm not home until 6.

No, which is why during the week we don’t try. We aim to have “family dinner” every Sunday if we can.

We do all the clubs on Saturdays so none in the week. Home from work and after school club at 5pm, dinner at 5:30, bedtime between 6:30-7 then I get my free time in the evening when kids are in bed.

I wouldn't focus on the 5pm, just find a time that works and see if you can condense any of the activities into fewer days

Older children have clubs that are much later.

Scouts is 7-9pm. Sports training likewise.
Cadets 6:30 - 8:30 (that was a McDonald's night)

We ate at about 6 but it was in between school and clubs.

When they were younger it would be sarnie in the car on the way to swimming or ballet or similar then hot food later when home.

Slow cookers are your friend, come home to a cooked chili or curry and we have a separate rice cooker so put that on as we walk through the door on the table in 20 mins. Even if you eat at separate times it's just one set of cooking. During the 20 mins rice is cooking, wash and pack lunches for the next day, make overnight oats for breakfast, prep veg for the next days dinner. I managed to only cook and wash up once a day, dirty stuff goes in the dishwasher.

The best thing we did after COVID was slim down the clubs but also there is just me and one DD. And there were definitely nights where dinner was eaten in the car on the way to activities. Or we would have a light dinner like soup followed by supper after activities, especially swimming when she was starving

We just have a lot of clubs!

Dd1 has guides one night a week (though that's later), and two nights a week she has gymnastics.

Then on the other nights Dd2 has rainbows, and swimming lessons! And gymnastics at the weekend 🤦🏻‍♀️

Plus we have to factor in dog walks after work too - the dog gets fed before we do!

I know what you mean about the constant rush OP. But as you say, I wouldn't want to take their extra curricular activities away. I did barely anything as a kid (seen as an unnecessary extravagance I think) and I have no hobbies as an adult because I can't do anything for myself without thinking it's a waste of time and money. Not a mentality I want my daughters to share.

We sit down at 5.45 as a family. I collect kids from school at 5. But on Mondays kids eat a significant snack and then dinner at 6.30 after a class. On Tuesdays, Weds and Thursday we eat and then eldest goes to sports clubs.
kids are 6 and 10, and we prioritised a commute of less than 25mins rather than a big house.

Impossible as dh is back 6.30....dd needs food between 5-5.30. as a child I remember eating as a family at 5

We have always eaten together at the table - I think it is really important so prioritised it.
When I was a SAHM we ate at six as DH was home around 5:45pm and the only clubs they did we 4:30 to 5:30. The slow cooker was my friend.
Now I work and the children are older we eat at 7pm.

I sit down with DH and DD at around 5-5:30 every night, If I eat any later I get awful heartburn 🤢🤢

Why does it need to be 6? Eat at 7, make it less of a rush.

30 years ago a lot more people had either a sahm or certainly a parent who worked in a job much closer to home and perhaps school hours. Loads of mums worked a daytime shift in a shop, or worked in a school or part time low responsibility admin role 15 min from home.
I also think many people don't realise how hard some working mums used to work to have a meal on the table at 6pm - my mum used to spend her evening the day before preparing a meal that we kids were instructed to put in the oven at 5.15 or 5.30 (as older kids, early teens etc) so that it was ready to serve at 6. Simpler plainer meals, mondays were always reheated plates of Sunday roast leftovers.

I agree OP! I am generally pretty happy with our parenting routine but the one big failing I how infrequently we all eat dinner together. What with work schedules not overlapping with dinner and clubs 3 days a week, it's very difficult to find the time to all eat together during the week.

We have dinner anytime between 5.15 and 7.30 depending on what everyone doing that day. We manage to all sit down together twice a week - 2 days a week DH is still commuting home and I eat with the DC, and on Wednesdays DS1 has swimming in the evenings.

I do think the endless clubs some children do are not necessary. Yes, they get to try things out but they don't get the time to come in from school, have a snack and get changed, then have several hours to play. That is also a very valuable childhood experience imo. Learning to amuse themselves, pursue an interest, read for hours, all vital for a rounded child.

Totally depends on everyone’s schedules doesn’t it?
we sit down to eat a meal together every night, whoever’s home.
But never before 7, often closer to 8/8:30 mainly because we hate eating earlier than that. Dc are now 2 adults and one teen. Teen has a substantial snack when home from school and then does homework, football training, games, goes to a friends or has a friend round etc, I will swim after work (3 days from home), dh is usually home most of the day anyway (self employed) but does most of the cooking and starts at about 5.

but in short, some people can and do sit down to eat dinner together at 6 because their lives fit that schedule.

6pm is much too early for dinner anyway. We usually have dinner between 7-8pm. It works better with all our schedules and means I'm less tempted to snack after dinner.

My twins (7) and I sit down together to eat, but rarely at 6.

We don't, kids eat earlier about 5pm and then DH and I eat at about 7:30.

Fine when the kids were tiny. Very hard now they have activities. Eating together sometimes feels like an impossibility, let alone at 6pm.

We mostly eat between 6-7, once a week we eat at 5.30 so DD can get to an activity for 6. DH works 8-4/4.30, so is back by 5, I work nights then sleep until 3pm when I pick up the kids. My kids are quite young so go to bed 7/7.30, so couldn't eat much later. My kids don't have much on afterschool, we used to have more but they were general to tired so we moved their hobbies to the weekends.

We usually eat tea between 5:30 and 6.

Mon and Fri i don't work and husband gets home at 5:10pm.

Tues and Weds i wfh and husband and daughter get home at 5:15/5:20 after being picked up from nursery.

Thursday is my office day so it's usually a batch meal like spag bol or curry taking 10 mins to cook with pasta/rice. Usually eating by 6 on that day.

I'm usually in charge of cooking and when wfh can throw a roast chicken in the oven that can be eaten over 2 days.