What time do you feed DC dinner?

[okaythensure]

We have two DC 4/6.

We've always had dinner as a family at 4/4:30 and then DC have a snack at 6ish and bed for 7:30.

I'm beginning to think this model no longer works.

DC are home from school at 3:30 and starving so they have. A snack but then don't really eat their dinner.

Just wondering what others do?

Mine have always been up between 5 and 6am (not the teenagers jn the house obviously!) so they naturally are exhausted being up so stupidly early, going to school, then need bed time 6.30pm settled down listening to audiobooks. Youngest 6yo often asleep before 7pm. He's wiped out. I am an OU student/SAHM so get them to bed when they need it.

DDs are 7 and 5.

When they come home from school they get a snack around 3.30pm. Cheese and crackers, or some fruit and yoghurt etc.

Dinner is around 6pm and then upstairs to start getting ready for bed at 7pm/7.30pm

On days when they have after school club they get a light meal there so tend to just have a snack when they get home. Some toast or a bowl of cereal etc around 5.30pm and DH and I eat later at 8pm.

That's very early for dinner! My kids are 4 and 7. My eldest will have a snack when she gets home from school. Fruit, yoghurt, crisps. Sometimes I'll make her half a sandwich too if she's really hungry. Youngest at nursery but gets decent snack at 3pm.

Dinner is usually around 6pm or a bit later sometimes 6.30pm. I can't do it before then as I'm working until 5.30 or on days off they have gymnastics until 5.30pm.

Bedtime is usually about 8.30pm. I try for 8pm but very rarely is it then and they often aren't tiered enough so it just takes longer!

That’s extremely early. We have a 2 and 5 year 6 year old. snack after school 3.30. Dinner for 5/5.30 bed for 7. We eat with them about 2 times a week. Other days we eat separately to them at 7 when they go to bed so one of us cooks and the other puts them to bed. We make enough so the kids have the same meal we had that evening the next day

Snack after school at 4pm, dinner at 6pm, bed 7.30pm. DH gets home from work 5.45pm. We have done it this way since our DD was a toddler (now 9) as I want us to a) all eat together so we can have family time and talk about our days and b) less time-consuming and easier to cook one meal for everyone rather than have to cook twice.

Snack after school then dinner at 6ish for DD. we don't always eat together but I try for a few nights a week

Snack if needed at 4. Dinner at 5.30- 6.00 (all of us together). Bed about 9 til 10.

Another vote for the other way round. We do a light snack normally fruit if they ask after school and then dinner as a family at around 5.30/6PM, children are 4 and 6 also.

Mine are older now but it has varied. At primary school they stayed a couple of nights at the after school club and always got a snack on arrival of something equal to a sandwich or fruit etc. so depending on how much they’d eaten then I over do a light tea when we got home. Scrambled egg on toast etc.

Now they’re secondary and if they come straight home and I’m at work they’ve raised the cupboard for snacks. Sometimes they stay for a club though and get in later. Sometimes I get a text at 5off one asking if she can just make her tea as she’s hungry so she might have a pizza bagel, noodles or something that doesn’t require gas!! lol.

when I’m not working (part time) both when they were in primary and now if they come straight home they will have a snack - biscuits, hummus and breadsticks etc. And then I’ll do a proper meal type tea (pasta/fish n chips on a Friday). Fridays we eat late as youngest has a club 6-7 and with it being sporting she has a light snack before so she’s not starving but not enough to make her ill during the club. The other nights we do eat as a family at 5pm. My kids seem programmed to be hungry for tea at 5pm!! And sometimes we have evening activities anyway and need to be out at rather 6 or 7.

Tea at 4pm
supper later.
autistic kids who are very restrictive what they eat so takes 10/15 min to air fry tea.

I eat whenever. 5/6 alone.
8/9ish ion hubby's nights off.

We all eat together about 4pm, 4.30 at the latest. They've never wanted or asked for a snack later in the evening other than the occasional piece of fruit, so that meal sees them through until breakfast.

Mine are all primary age (11, 9 and 6)

Never, ever, ever have any of mine had a 7pm bedtime. Not at any age, ever.

Mine are at grandparents 3 evenings a week but we all tend to keep same schedule. Small snack at 3.30pm and dinner at 5.30pm. Grandparents eat with kids but when they're home I have a cuppa and sit with them (adults eat later)

After school activities have started to impact things a little now. Kids eat at 6pm a few times a week now due to various kids having various things going on.

I have pretty much always had my dinner at 5pm, so stuck to that since having DS. He has a snack after school but if he is starving, I just do dinner earlier. He’s in year 1 and we’ve done it this way for a few years.

DC are 11 and 12. We used to start dinner at 8/8.15pm, but now have it around 7.45pm because they finish school earlier, and also they are generally hungrier as they are growing like weeds.

DS11 also has lunch at school at 11.45am! The first week of the holidays he is always starving by 1pm when we would typically serve lunch!

We all eat at about 5pm

We all eat together around 6/6.30.

DS is 4

I have DD5, DD2 and I’m pregnant (and tired!)

We get back from school and nursery pick up 4 ish, eat dinner straight away, as they are both always famished, grumpy and don’t eat a lot during the day.

DH gets home at 6:30/7, he eats near enough straight away and DD5 and most of the time DD2 too, will swarm him and sit with him, so I make them a small bowls of what we are eating, which they do quite well with! DH takes them to bath and bed after he’s finished, usually asleep for 7:30.

6.30-7 ish. DC are 9 and 6. Children have a snack at afterschool club. Works fine for us.

Dinner is always around 5pm due to work. The children have a snack after school , I don’t really limit what they have in terms of wether small like a biscuit or they want to make a sandwich ( not loads of junk as if they’re full i want it to be from food not crisps ! ) I just say don’t fill yourself up because dinner is at 5.

I make sure they eat enough dinner , and for eg if they have veg with it I want all of that ate ( just so they’re getting it really as packed lunches aren’t the healthiest ) but I’m not one to make them sit and eat everything on their plate just because it’s there if they can’t eat it ( I remember this as a child , having to eat what was in front of me and having to make myself feel sick just to not waste food ! ) - however my husband is more like that , he doesn’t like waste so we butt heads about that !

it works well for us , they usually eat what’s there and the main thing is for me that they’re satisfied x

On days I'm working they eat with childcarer at 530, then DH and I eat after they're up to bed at 7. Otherwise we all eat together at 530. (DD8&11)

Light snack straight from school. Tea around 5.30 and bedtime for 7.45

At that age, DC around 6 pm, bed usually 8 - 8.30pm.

Me and DH would never eat dinner so early - he was still in the office at 6pm - so we eat (much) later and prioritise family meals at weekends, holidays etc.

13&11: Honestly whenever we can fit it in- sometime between 5:30 and 8:30 and might be proper dinner or just a pack up if I’m dropping to multiple sports activities ( they get a proper hot lunch at school so not a disaster).

5-5.30. DD is 10. We used to give her supper and then eat separately once she was in bed, but we were ending up too tired to start cooking at 8-ish and now we all eat together.
I didn’t think I’d want to eat so early but actually I’ve got used to it and enjoy having more time later on.