Parents of children under 5 - Describe 5pm-7pm in your house

[Teachingteacher]

This is mostly to make me feel better about my life! Tell me if yours is similar.

Mine looks like this:

5pm I arrive home with DS aged 4, and DD aged 6 months.
5:10pm - DS has a snack of cherry tomatoes (same every day!) at the dining table while DD sits in the high chair watching him
5:20 - DS plays in his room while listening to the Thomas the Tank Engine podcast, DD sits screaming in the high chair in the kitchen while I finish up dinner (it’s mostly meal prepped)
5:30-5:45 - DH arrives home
5:45 - We sit at the table and eat dinner. Everyone mostly eats their food. We finish every meal with a piece of fruit and a piece of chocolate. DD has a few bites of purée to keep her busy
6pm - we finish dinner and DH goes to run the bath. DS helps me bring plates into the kitchen
6:10pm - DH has a bath with the kids. I clean up the kitchen and put on the dishwasher. I also put on a load of washing. I then come over to the bath and wash both kids hair. DD comes out first and I change her into her pjs. DH gets DS into his PJs.
6:20 - We have ‘clean up time’ which involves tidying the living room and bedrooms, putting laundry away, and this is when I check DS school bag for leftover snacks and letters home.
6:40 - we attempt some kind of family quiet time, read a book to DS. DD is usually screaming like a banshee at this point. We finally give her a pacifier that she sucks for 2 seconds and then spits out.
7pm - DH puts DS to bed. I hear him singing him a song every evening. DS falls asleep immediately most of the time. I start feeding DD her last bottle. DH comes out of DS’s room and sinks into the sofa with a sigh.
7:15pm - I put DD down in her crib in our room. She cried for about 30 seconds and then falls asleep.

7:20pm - DH and I look at each other, exhausted. He makes us a cup of tea (earl grey for me, English breakfast for him) and we start our evening…

5pm - Me & DC (2.5 & 11 months) arrive home. DH has dinner in the oven (he works from home). The kids play for half an hour.

5.30pm - we all eat together.

6pm - Either DH or I will clear up whilst the other runs DC2's bath.

6.10pm - DH baths DC2 whilst I get his bottle and PJs ready. DC1 usually watches something on his tablet whilst this is happening.

6.20pm - DH brings DC2 through and gets him dried, nappy and pjs on whilst I run DC1's bath.

6.30pm - DH baths DC1 whilst I give/supervise DC2 having his bottle.

the nights they don't have a bath DH plays with them for half an hour after tea, before getting them ready for bed

6.45pm - I take DC2 through to bed (he's usually sleeping by 7pm) whilst DH gets DC1 out of the bath, dried, teeth brushed and pjs on.

7pm - DH takes DC1 to bed, reads him a couple of stories and then sings to him whilst I fill the dishwasher, empty the tumble drier and fold the washing.

It takes DC1, on average, an hour to fall asleep.

8pm(ish) - DH sorts the bins/recycling and takes them out.

8.15pm - we sit down with a coffee and a snack and watch TV until we go to bed.

Ours is similar but we don’t finish bedtime until 730/8 (3 dc aged 5 and under).
5 dh finishes work, watches the kids whilst I make dinner. Dc playing/fighting. We put on tv sometimes
545/6ish we all eat together
615/30ish kids hopefully play whilst me and DH tidy up from dinner including vacuuming downstairs, clean kitchen surfaces etc .
7ish we all go upstairs for kids bath. I then take baby to feed and put to bed, whilst dh does stories and bed with the old two.

I normally get downstairs about 730, DH closer to 8. I work in the evenings though so straight onto my laptop for that.

A complete shitshow.

Baby is grumpy and cluster-feeding, older one needs dinner, bed and bath and we also have to fit in homework and reading. Older one wants my attention but baby screams whenever she's not attached to me. Older one needs someone to lie beside them to get to sleep but then can't get to sleep because the baby is being noisy. I reach 9pm with both still awake, me exhausted and start sarcastically singing "You are my sunshine" at the pair of them, which makes me feel a bit better.

3, 5, 14, 15 & 18 year olds…

5pm make dinner, wee ones generally crafting at the table
5.20pm 5 year old lays the table, 3 year old starts sitting waiting for food lol
5.30pm we all eat dinner
5.50pm washing up done by older ones alternatively
6pm bath for youngest two
6.30pm jigsaws or card games
6.50pm books, teeth
7pm bed for two youngest

3 year old & 6 month old.

17:00 - arrive home from collecting eldest from nursery. Little one will be in car seat napping having fallen asleep on car journey.

17-1730 - big one watches his tablet & relaxes while little one finishes nap & I prep dinner. Little one goes in high chair with toys in kitchen with me once he's awake.

1730-45 DH arrives home & takes kids to play

1800 - dinner with everyone. Little one joins at table and has a few finger foods (just mostly mushes them up).

1830 - DH plays with the kids & reads books etc whilst I clear away & run baths.

1830 - 1930 - both of us tackle bath & bed with both the kids.
Bath
Story
Pjs & teeth
Bottle for the little one
Cuddles to sleep - we usually take one child each but sometimes little one will fall asleep after milk while big one is playing in bath and I'll sort both of them out.

1930 - DH tidies away all the toys and general crap downstairs and makes us a cuppa whilst I fall into a heap on the sofa. Once the house is habitable again he also collapses onto sofa and we watch a bit of TV .

Your night sounds pretty normal.

So jealous of everyone who’s partner gets home in time to be part of the evening routine. What jobs do you/ they do that means you both are home by 5?!? I can’t imagine it. I’m a stay at home mum and my husband leaves for work at 6.50am and arrives home at 8.15pm - management consultant, hour and a half commute to London.

my routine with a 18 month old and 4 year old is:

4.30pm I make dinner while they pkay
5pm dinner - 4 year old takes an hour to eat at the moment 🙃
6pm - I hastily tidy the dishes/ put things to soak clean up as much as I can, ask kids to tidy toys/ books etc
6.30 - joint bath time
6:45 - get baby dressed then eldest
7pm - read them both stories in eldests bed
7.15pm - leave eldest with a sleep story on and go breastfeed youngest to sleep
7.30ish - both asleep. go downstairs tackle clean up from dinner, put toys away, tidy bathroom, put a load of washing on
8.10pm - finish jobs
8.15pm - husband arrives home to peace and quiet and tidy ness and a burnt out exhausted grumpy wife!

OP your children are asleep within 15 mins of you putting them down? By 720pm! What do you need to feel better about exactly? There isn't anything in your evening routine which suggest me you are struggling or experiencing a shit time of it at all?! Actually it's a bit stealth boasty if anything??

1 nearly 4 year old that goes to nursery twice a week. I’m a part time student and SAHM. DP works away at least 1-2 days a week so routine doesn’t depend on him

Nursery evenings are typically like this:
4-4.30: I pick up DD. Either go straight home or quick play in the park
4.30-5.30: Put dinner on. I often prep earlier in the day so is usually not long. DD has tea at nursery at 3.30 so sometimes not very hungry
5.30-6.30: Play/watch TV, wash up after dinner and clear kitchen. Sometimes a dog walk
6.30-7: Start bedtime routine, alternate this with DP depending on when his home. Brush teeth, pyjamas, quick play in room and read books.
7-10: usually watch tv with DP, read a book/scroll on my phone. Sometimes fold some laundry but not any noisy homework as DD is a light sleeper and wakes at anything

Ours is roughly the same but only start putting them to bed at 8. This may change when oldest starts school. Works for us now though! Sounds like you're doing a good job

Sounds like you have it nailed in your house.

We arrive home from work/ school between 5.45 and 6.30pm and then let the witching hour begin!

We try to cook/ do reading/ do packed lunches and snacks for the next day.

Then bedtime is around 8pm ( depending if there was a nap in the car during the 40 minute commute)

Once DD is in bed then we both check in with work and then go and chill out. Very little couple time in the week.

We both are natural night owls but we are exhausted by 10pm.

I have DS1 3.5 years DS2 2.3 years DS3 7 months.
5-7pm all hell breaks loose.
7.10pm they’re asleep and I drink a lot of wine

Lone parent that wfh and out of the house but according to DD’s routine

3:15 school pick up.
3:20 either walk home or to our local shops to grab something for dinner we fancy.
4pm arrive home
4:05pm go through book bag and tapestry for things I must do immediately and things I can do at a later date. Write immediate things down on whiteboard.
4:10pm snack for Dd and chill out time.
While Dd eats snack I sit with her and check work emails and send anything off I need to before 9am.
4:45ish sit at dining room table and do reading and spelling with Dd. (Year 1 and on popcorn learning if anyone else knows that hell!)
5:10 I start dinner.
5:30-5:45 serve dinner. I don’t eat at the same time as Dd but will have a small amount and sit down with her and chat through our day.
6:30pm Dd goes up to choose her nighttime story while I stick a wash on and shove plates in the sink to clean.
6:45 I go up and if it’s bath night Dd has a bath, if not I brush DD’s hair and plait it. Get into jimjams and read story. Turn on nightlight and put magic no bad dream kisses everywhere!
7:30ish I come down l, wash up, do laundry, mop/sweep/hoover/pick up etc and work until roughly 9:30pm.
10pm make sure uniform is ready for tomorrow, check whiteboard for important things. Clean shoes etc.
10:30 have a shower and lay out my clothes for tomorrow.
11 sleep!
5am back up to work before Dd is awake and get her breakfast ready. Get dressed and get Dd up. And start again!

I have a 3.5yo and 34 weeks pregnant with number 2.

DD is collected from nursery at 5pm, home by about 5.20-5.30 depending on the queue and traffic.

If it’s bath night (she has a bath every other day), then she watches Cbeebies for half an hour, then we eat at 6 (I wfh most days so will start dinner at 5 while DH collects her). 6.30 I go and run her bath while she has her pudding. I bathe her, brush her teeth, blow dry her hair and get her into her pyjamas. DH washes up while I’m doing this. Then DH does bedtime stories and settles her, lights go off between 7.15 and 7.30.

If not bath night, then after getting home she has an hour of CBeebies and card/board games with DH while I cook dinner, we sit down to eat at about 6.30. Then I take her upstairs, wash face/hands/teeth while DH washes up, do bedtime stories and settle her. Lights off between 7.15 and 7.30.

Under no illusions that it’s all about to go to shut when the baby is born!

It depends on the day - whether me or dh have been working, whether youngest at nursery, whether any after school club or swimming lessons, whether it's bath night. But days where we walk straight home from school and are home for 3.30 are sooooo much more chilled and lovely so trying to do less work/activities during the week.

We have a rough routine for each evening but generally all upstairs for 6.15 then we don't come down again.

(Kids are 2, 3 and 5.)

What @Seaside1972 said
I have a 1 year old,2 year old and a 4 year old.
Between 5-7 is chaos,a real shit show.
No routine,I just try to survive it 😅

15 months, we are home just after half 5, we have a play then I get dinner sorted whilst she plays with her toys.

usually have dinner around 5.30ish, bit more play / read books.

if it’s bath night that’s at 6.15ish, then it’s milk, stories and always down in bed for 7pm.

Finally got into a decent routine but it's taken months and months and will all go to pot when I go back to work in august!

DD1: nearly 3
DD2: 6 months

4pm: DH arrives home from work and starts tidying up the bombsite that is the kitchen
4.30: One of us will start making the tea
5ish: we attempt to eat tea, DD1 usually crying about the fact we've given her food she doesn't like/wrong plate/wrong cup. DD2 sitting in her high chair crying because she is tired and we try to keep her entertained with toys/songs and/or trying to feed her a bit of purée she has no interest in.
5.30/45: DD1 starts requesting all of the fruit in the house
6pm: DD1 is playing with her toys making a mess of my living room while I feed DD2 and DH stacks the dishwasher.
6.15: DH runs the bath for DD1. I am probably still feeding DD2.
6.30: DD1 comes out of the bath and runs around the house in her towel for 5 mins
6.35: DD1 gets into her PJs then tidies up the carnage she has made
6.40: DD1 chooses cereal for supper and I sit with her while she eats. DH takes DD2 for nappy change and into PJs.
7pm: DH and I split bedtimes. One reads stories to DD1, the other feeds DD2 in her room.
7:30ish: DDs are hopefully asleep and we start tidying/getting things ready for the next day.
8pm exhausted and end up just getting ready for bed ourselves!

2.5 and 5 year old...

5pm - tea. All 4 of us if DH is working lates, otherwise just kids.

5.30 - ask kids nicely to get ready for bath or bed.

5.32 - bribe with extra stories to take their clothes off.

5.34 - chase round the landing holding pjs.

5.40 - stories

6.00 - 5 year old conks straight out.

Extra stories with 2.5 year old (still naps at nursery) or play together with something quiet.

6.30 - try and convince 2.5 year old to fall asleep in her own bed.

6.45 - 2.5 year old wins and breastfeeds to sleep or near sleep.

7.30ish - 2.5 year old goes into bed.

Fucking horrendous.

4.45pm finish work, drive to nursery.
5pm pick up 18 month old DS. Fight to get into car seat.
5.30pm get home and fight to get DS out of car seat. Try to make dinner while monitoring DS who is intent on dangerous activities.
6pm DS bath or pj’s on if no bath.
620pm snack for DS and watch night garden while I eat my dinner (quickly)
640pm DH gets home
650pm DH eats dinner and watches DS while I clean up kitchen and get pj’s on
730pm take DS to bed with milk in my bed. I’m trapped for rest of evening in the dark as DS won’t stay asleep without me.
no idea what DH does for rest of evening as he sleeps in spare room to give me and DS space!!
I’m so sick and tired of it all but sounds like we all have similar patterns.

I should add that there are at least 5 huge tantrums every night. It’s awful.

@baconisgoodforme @MeganTheeScallion 😂🍷

The witching hours!

It's the worst time of day. We don't have dinner until 6/6.30. In bed by 7.30/8. So between 5 and 8 ish, it's the graveyard shift I'd say!

Having said that, our eldest has adhd and his behaviour ramps up that time of day.

Also it's hard in the winter especially when you can't go in the garden or to parks at that time of day when it's cold and dark.

So I totally get it.

Oh and my two are 4 and 20 months