To ask SAHM's what do you do from 4pm until 7pm? The depressing hours.

[SixToSeven]

Am I the only one to find this time of day horribly depressing and boring? My kids are between 6 months and 7 years old and I get so bored and tired at this time of day.

Apart from eating dinner, what do you do between after school and bedtime?

I look back on the days when my youngest was 6mo and it is a blur - I literally can't remember it. I do remember 4-7pm being really tough. My husband was a teacher so he'd try to come home by 5pm, help till 8pm, then he'd work again till about midnight. That really helped.

Now we do homework, walk the dog, do after-school activities, go swimming, play board games, and eventually I give in and allow screen time.

It's my most stressful and busy part of the day. Dealing with grumpy and tired kids, driving to and from various activities, trying to cook a meal , test spellings , listen to them read and do homework in between all the drop offs and collections.

I'm currently taking a few moments to calm down after telling my DS off for being rude to me constantly since I collected him from school. And now ,because he has lost x box privileges for today and is very close to having this extended for the whole weekend,he is wailing in his room. Oh the joys of parenting.

I'm just willing bedtime to come round quickly so that I can crack open the Friday night .

I hate this time of day trying to keep dd four awake after nursery. Its worse when its summer and doesnt get dark for ages. I normally take her for her tea somewhere trying to kill an hour. Shes just glued to the tv atm. So its normally tea tv bath and bed. If I can be arsed we'll make playdoh bake cakes or sum messy activity before bath time. Im just counting down the hours till I can watch tv and eat alone. Theres just lots of tears tantums and endless waiting...

With 2 yo dd I go to vist my parents in the endless window between finishing dinner and the start of bedtime. We eat just before 5 after dh leaves for work. Then we pop over the road to mum and dad's for an hour or two. Dd gets spoiled rotten and a couple of times a week I get an hour off. We need the change of senory that time of day.

Occasionally if dd is partticually exhausted and mum and dad are both out we cuddle up on the sofa and watch a film.

cook tea, wash up, read a book, have a bath, go shopping, out for tea at a friends, have friends over fr tea.
I only have dd now though and she's 11, so maybe not much help there.

DH picks the boys up at 3, they go to the park to walk the dogs till around 4. Then it's home for homework, dinner prep (which I cook when I get in at 6), reading, some screen time if they have any to spend.

Thursday there are music lessons, Friday there is junior sparring 4-5, Mon-Weds it's mostly homework I think.

I know when I get in at 6 mostly they're in the kitchen being silly together :)

Oh the witching hours. We do reading, dinner, throw them out in the garden if the weather's good but mostly, they want to watch TV. Some Fridays, their friends from school come home with us and the mum & I chat, turn up the music and drink wine whilst the children play. Those are the best days.

Today, I'm hiding upstairs watching the news and MNing whilst pretending to sort the washing out. DC are watching TV downstairs. I feel like a crap mum as I don't enjoy this time.

Mine are older, 16 and 9. Weeknights my oldest doesn't get home til 6 (stays at school studying) and then has evening activities so she comes in,eats, gets changed and goes out. Weds she's home by half four and does homework then she's either gaming or goes to bed early'

My 9 year old goes to one activity on Monday with her sister and then does gymnastics on Thursday. The rest of the time she comes home, she likes helping to cook and sometimes chops veg or she watches tv.

Just lunch box, shower/bath and tidying up after dinner after that. It's easier when they are older.
Friday's are great. Everyone home early, one in front of tv, one on computer and I'm in the bath. Being observed by one of the cats who is perched on ?the wash basket.

3 -5 is a hard time, but 5.00 dinner, 6.00 bath, then tv followed by upstairs for teeth cleaning, stories & bed.

I remember how hard that time of day was when the kids were little, a real slog to the finish line. Kids were hyper, then knackered and pissed off. Dinner, bath, tv, snuggle on the sofa and eventually bed with a book for all of us. Now, with 2 teenagers, dinner, they bugger off upstairs, i clean up, mess about on the web, watch soaps.
I miss sofa snuggle time.

4-5 we play, watch TV, dance to music, Mumsnet then 5pm I start dinner. Sometimes I start at 4.30pm depending on what I'm cooking. DS usually chats away to me while I cook or watches TV. Dinner is at 6pm, then it's a bit of a chill out, bath time, pyjamas, quiet play or relax on the sofa, then bed for 8pm.

Oh so comforting to find its hard for so many of us - night swift - I'm the same as you. I feel bad mum and bad wife as invariably DH will arrive just as 4 month baby finally breaks down in hysterics as I've ignored his building protests as I've usually spent an hour trying to persuade my fussy eater/frequent vommiter DS who is 3 to eat - so DH says something innocuous like 'it's 6.30?hasn't he eaten yet?' and I almost high kick him with a wave of vile swearing, all in front of kids. Witching hour does seem to peak as I hear DH keys in door as that's when I see the house and state of kids on state of apparent neglect. But I'm loving being SAHM - so why does witching hour take me by surprise every day and why do I take it out on my brilliant DH?

TV and MN.

We have tv on from 8-9.30 while i am doing breakfast, getting the dc ready, getting washed and dressed myself, putting laundry on, making phonecalls etc. then spend the morning out at park and shopping. get back for lunch about 12. play trains till 3ish. Then i give up and a peppa pigathon goes on while i run in and out of the kitchen (while toddler is distracted) doing bottles, numerous different meals, feeding baby, feeding toddler, loading dishwasher, folding laundry etc. i can't start bath/bedtime till 7 when dh gets in. my children are 2.6 and 6mo.

I have dd 22 months and ds 6 months and between 4 and 6 is usually hell ! I put YouTube nursery rhymes on and text dh and beg him to come home early . Ds is now crawling backwards and gets so frustrated when he can't get the things he wants. It can only get easier ... I hope

I find it the hardest part of day during term time! I ferry dcs to clubs 3 days a week, play dates, watch tv, talk to dcs about day, homework, dinner etc. goid think is bedtime rapidly approaching!

Homework, after school club drop offs and pickups, dinner, baths. Also wine, much wine!!

Ds is 11, Dd is 8 here it is activity, homework, dinner (monday)or home work , activity, dinner (Tuesday and thursday) or homework, dinner, activity (wednesday) or slob out in front of the TV (friday). I always tried to do something after school (or nap time when they were younger) or the late afternoon really drags. Good things to do I found were the park, soft play or a walk in the woods. If all else fails I play a board game or bake with them.

We walk the dogs between 4-5, dinner 5 - 5:30/6 then TV till 6:40 when we have a bath/fight and then 7pm to bed - YAY!

DS is 16 months - I make him do a lot if the walking on the dog walks to knacker him out!

I have a 6 and 2 year old. We try and play outside at school playground for a bit depending on the weather, get home by 4ish, give the kids a snack, chat about the day - then the kids play for an hour or so, TV goes on around 5 or 5.30 so I can be in the kitchen cooking dinner (and going on MN) in peace.

We eat at 6, after dinner is school reading with the 6yo, then they play a bit more (outside in summer) and then up for bath at 7ish, aim for lights out 8pm.

Ours runs fairly smooth most days, but in winter it can really drag, also I would like to put the kids to bed a little earlier but 2 yo is still napping and won't go to bed earlier.

4-7pm is normal part of the day here. Kids 3 and 5 years

But we start dinner around 7.30pm, kids in bed around 9pm, so our busy time is 7-9pm. Nicer imo as then we can spend 4-7pm between us either at work, or outside playing, and then cook etc once the opportunity to do that stuff has past. ( ie it's currently too dark and cold outside at 7pm to go outside)

Today 4-5.30pm kids played at my office whilst I finished up work. We then walked though park home, grabbed swimming stuff and swam 6.15-7pm. Literally just in, dh is helping ds1 read, ds2 doing puzzle, and I'e just started dinner.

you are all going to hate me

I usually get in about 4'ish just in time for a nice cup of tea and a sit down. Sometimes I watch countdown on catch up or I might read the paper or do some mumsnetting.

DC4 gets in at 4:30 ish and we have a chat about our days. She then disappears to go and do her homework while I carry on with my sofa fest.

I might do a few chores or some gardening if I feel like it which isn't very often.

I start supper at 6:30'ish or a bit later if it's a quick meal. Once or twice a week DD2 will cook.

As you may have guessed My DC have grown up, my youngest is 18 and the other three are at Uni

After all those years of having to endure the 'witching hours' I LOVE the hours between 4 and 7.

Just think, the worse they are when they are little the more you will appreciate it when the get older

Shout, drink and pray that DH won't be home too long after 7.

He has been away this week and his flight home tonight is delayed. When he gets here he may well find that his children have been sold on Ebay.

It's hard isn't it, you never know if you should be out and about doing something with them or letting them relax at home! I'm usually cooking or refereeing arguments, trying to peel their uniforms of them...drinking! Having a bath, getting ready for bed

Usually homework and telly or DS1 plays his xbox. Today they played outside for 2 hours it was the first time this year and they fair enjoyed themselves!!