What do you do with kids between school pick up and bedtime? It seems to last FOREVER

[CouldWeStartAgainPlease]

This is probably my terrible parenting shining through, but what on earth do you do with your young children between 3pm and bedtime?

My children are 5 (primary 1) and 3 (school nursery) and approaching the end of their first term. We live 20 seconds from the school so by 3pm each day they are home.

They're tired so I let them veg out a bit, and have a snack. We have our dinner at some point and go up to start bedtime about 7ish.

I've usually been working during the day so I'm trying to get washing, dinner, etc done. It feels too late to actually go anywhere, plus we're tired and I need to do stuff.

Everyone ends up fed up and bickering with one another, any every hour seems to drag by... Why are these hours so much harder than any other 5 hours earlier in the day? They don't want to play, or go anywhere or do anything

It's weird. Am I alone in this?

I'm about to have a baby and the thought of adding the witching hour into this atmosphere is not appealing....

Now mine are bigger they do after school activities, dance, martial arts, swimming and the like.

Prior to that, honestly, they’d play, watch tv, we would read, have dinner, bath and bed.

Mine are 9 and 7 we do homework, reading and ttrockstars. 10 mins of each for each of them. Then they chill infront the tv before tea and any clubs they have on. Home and bed

Mine are 3 years apart in age and older now but at p1 and nursery age we spent a lot of time at the park straight after school. DD's both did swimming and dd1 did gymnastics, dance and rainbows. Dd2 was dragged along for the ride. Life is even busier now but they can walk themselves to some things and there are some shared lifts so it's a little easier in some respects. We really struggle to do any homework though and little time for tv. Sometimes I wish we had more down time but not sure what we could have given/could give up. I've never really played with my kids though as I got involved with their imaginative games past accepting and pretending to eat/drink their make believe afternoon tea. Definitely don't feel bad about that!

Oh and the play dates - I've managed to lose those as a combination of covid and age but in p1 there was usually a play date one way or another often as once a week

Once a week we do park and once a week a coffee/hot choc and cake in a cafe then smaller tea. Usually pop to my mums one night too. Then it’s screen time whilst I do tea, eat, spellings/reading for half an hour, shower, bed for 7.45pm

They miss you! I normally do something together like crafts/play dough/reading stories when we get in to ‘re-connect’. Then they play while I cook, have tea, snuggles then chores and bed. Don’t think you have to amuse them! Think of it as sharing time together. They help with chores. We do those activities because I enjoy them. If liked going to the park, gardening or colouring we’d do that.

Park if nice weather, library if not. Sometimes we go food shopping and the kids can pick a treat (snack or small toy).

Then we go home and have an hour of playing with toys, dinner, baths, and an hour of screen time after baths. Then stories and bed.

I send mine to after school club for this reason twice a week so he has play there and food

The other days he has tv for 2 hours then it's dinner / shower / bed

If there's time after dinner or not having a shower I'll allow extra tv time but that's it, I can't take him out as I don't finish work til 5 ish so like you said not a lot of time to do it

Don't put pressure on yourself , much better to do it at the weekend when everyone is less tired!!

Leave school and either have snack in the car on the way to a club then home, homework, shower whilst I make dinner, belly rest then bed or home, homework, dinner, club, snack, bed and a morning shower depending on the club. DSD has one most nights and enjoys her routine. Bedtimes now 8pm as she's 7 although teeth and in bed by 7:45 as I read a chapter of a book we're making our way through each night. Same routine since reception but 7:30 bed time

Friday has no clubs so it's normally errands after school, hot chocolate at coffee shop to discuss plans for weekend then home where she plays out with the girls on our street until dinner