If you pick your DC up from after school club around 6pm…

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…what does the rest of your evening look like and when do your DC get to bed?

I’m finding it impossible to do reading/homework, make dinner, do bath and get them into bed at a reasonable hour.

Yeah homework has to happen at weekend, reading in the morning. Sometimes some spelling practise after school but normally instead of reading one morning… we drop off at 7.30am so days start quite early too 😣

Oh also they have school dinner so only sandwich/ toast for tea - they actually go to Childminder’s not after school club so they eat there. Bath is at 7 then bed by 7.30 …

Dinner at 7, bed 8.30. Sometimes reading or spelling but v quickly. Main homework is done at weekends.

Dd is 7.

Sack off homework.

Move reading to breakfast time if necessary.

Resist misplaced guilt over any of it.

We sack off the bath im afraid. We are straight out after school 2x a week and not back until 1945. Homework has to be done in the morning or while waiting for dinner. They have to read for 30 minutes every day too.

if one of you is cooking dinner cant the other supervise homework?

Straight home, quick cook tea (dd is old enough to shower alone while I cook). Eat & bed. Bedtime is between 7:00-8:00pm. Dd reads in bed. Spelling practice gets shoehorned in if / when we get chance. Everything else has to wait until the weekend or a day I finish work earlier.

Today I picked my girl up at 5 but she went straight to dancing so not in til 6.15. Quick dinner (meatballs and pasta) from freezer, while I was "cooking" she read to me then after dinner she did keyboard practice then a short go on iPad so I could clean up then teeth, story, bed.

She doesn't shower everyday and I don't work everyday so she showers those days. Her hw is due on Friday so we will have to do it tomorrow which is my day off this week. Annoying as it's set start of week and due Friday, last year she had the weekend. She's year 3

My older 2 (12 and 14) just come straight home from school and doss about do homework etc then.

Bedtime is 7.30 so all happens super quick!

We get homework each day for the next day so can’t sack it off.
Home from club, homework straight away while I cool their dinner - something quick like pasta or jacket potato. Eat dinner 6.40 ish. Music practise straight after at say 7.10. Shower 7.30. Tv and chilling until 8.45/9, then bed. Read in bed till probably 9.30. She’s 9 xx

This is why we moved, we were up at 5, kids up at 5.45 left at 6.45 am back at 6 pm home at 6.15 and fucking exhausted aged 5 to 12 thru couldn’t do it - it was shit.

Now they finish at 3, if they walk home then are back at 4 pm if they walk very very slowly.

We do football, piano, drama and all sorts after school and even then back by 5.30
And plenty of time for homework.

I have only a hug for you - I was so sick of my mother saying use the slow cooker, batch freeze - no I need to sleep and so do they !

How far away are you from after school? We were about a 10 minute drive. My children had school lunch but still needed a cooked dinner, but on those 6pm collection days, it was always something like slow cooker meals / pasta / stir fry (all prepped the night before) so it was on the table within 10-15 mins of walking in the door. Anything to make life easier. So dinner about 6.20, finished by about 6.45, a bit of homework (literally 20 mins or so) bath at 7.15, into bed and reading at 7.30. Lights out by about 8.

Have to say, we eventually found an after school nanny, just for a couple of nights per week which was amazing - she collected them from school, did a bit of homework, fed them, so when I walked through the door at 6ish, it was all so much more relaxed. It was a bit more expensive than after- school club but it was SO worth it.

This is us. Year 1 DS also is involved in loads of activities after after school club - so there’s ice skating, piano, French etc. Owing to 1 yr old nursery etc we rise early as a household - so DS reads to me in the morning while I fix breakfast, we regularly do number games en route to school in the car - or whilst doing nursery drop off before morning club at school. DS LOVES numbers so maths gets done to and from things as he’s constantly finding number patterns. Writing etc trickier but we do 15 mins post dinner once baby is in bed, he and I might do some writing, or spouse and him might do something.

Today for example he got picked up from after school club at 530. He had piano at home 6-7, then dinner and playing etc 7-745 ish and then we did 15 mins of learning. He’s gone to bed now with his dad and will be snoring by 820.

5am Wake up, get myself ready including a bath.
6am Kids up, get them ready including a bath.
7am Leave to get to drop off at 7.45am.

6pm Collect.
6.45pm Get home. Put a load of laundry on, make the dinner.
7.30pm Eat dinner. Quick clean up.
8pm Kids TV time, whilst I get things ready for the morning or do jobs or admin that need doing.
8.30pm Kids teeth and bed. Usually I go to bed at the same time and watch an episode of something. Sometimes I stay up to clean or work.

It’s tricky, but try not to get too stressed about it. Quick dinners are key, or something you can shove in the oven - and while it’s cooking you can do some homework / reading.

We are now working from home at the moment but did the exact same as you pre Covid.

What age are your DC?

We tried to do 10 mins homework Monday - Wednesday. DD2 is 11 so she does her homework independently whenever she wants and we check it over for her.

And reading is usually done in bed or in the kitchen while we are making dinner. But mostly in bed, as we always do a bedtime story anyway. Don’t feel you need to do it every night. A couple of nights is more than enough.

Shower / baths 3 x per week unless they get particularly dirty.

We aim for an 8-8.30pm bedtime when we were getting home after 6pm.

My biggest bit of advice would be to not get stressed and just do what you can.

When they were little, dinner, bath, bed. Reading and spelling before school, anything else at weekends or not at all.