to ask for help in keeping the kids at bay?

[user1485182339]

Please? What the hell do you do with them between back from work/nursery/school at around 5.30 or 6 and dinner on the table at around 6.30? Please, please tell me! They get home and just launch into play-fighting immediately, which inevitably results in fighting. I'm so tired of managing it all I'm thinking of resorting to TV. Which I know will be a mahoosive mistake. 😩

Why would it be a mistake?

Go sonewhere on the way home? Park/library/field with a kite or frisbee/swimming.

Why would tv be a mistake? Half an hour of calm, unwinding and a bit of peace?

Putting YouTube on and them either dancing or doing the kids yoga videos is good. I can't remember the name of it but there's a woman who does kids yoga videos with different themes and a story eg. Moana, star wars, frozen etc.

Or get something like playdough or colouring out in advance so its there ready for when they get home before they get too energetic.

Treasure hunts if they're old enough to read, do a little list each, give them a bag each and send them off. You can put things like 'hair clip, coin, toy dog, toy car, flower from the garden, blade of grass, something orange' etc. To buy extra time do some hard to find things

Whoever can tidy their room gets a smartie can work depending on moods too!

That's why CBBC and CITV were on from half 3 to half 5 in the 90s!

They are bored, why not offer the TV. As the right programs will help them wind down.
Your not a bad mum y
To use it we all do..

‘Resorting to the TV’

What’s wrong with the TV for goodness sake?! They’ve been at school all day, are clearly bored and strung out. What should they be doing? Algebra?!

Send them into the garden? Get them to read their books? Let them watch telly - seriously, it won't melt their brains! Colouring in? Playdough? Helping cooking?

BounceandClimb that's Cosmic Kids yoga, it's ace.

Mine watch telly for half an hour, or a film. It's not a problem.

TV 🤷🏻‍♀️

Half an hour’s tv after a very long day and school/ nursery definitely won’t harm them!

Resorting to the TV in my case is not great as they just argue about the TV. They are 4 and 7. I guess the solution would be 2 TVs but that seems a little excessive.

Almost 2yo DS is only in nursery on a Friday, so today was;

4.15pm home & play in paddling pool with DH while I make dinner
5.00pm Dinner
5.30pm DS 'help' DH water the garden while I clean up kitchen
6.00pm Close all the curtains and bring DS inside to wind down and convince him it's night time
6.30pm Bath
7.00pm Bed

If they're play fighting straight away then they probably need to do something energetic before dinner. Run around the park? Dance?

My dd is in school nursery and I often find that with the warm weather especially she's a sweaty, miserable, whiny, rude little wreck after school. So as soon as she comes home she gets in the shower and gets out in just a t shirt and pants and it resets her. Then she'll have an icy drink and an ice pole or something with her ipad and she's calmed down then. When it's not hot she still has her wind down time after school- a play in the park, a nice snack and drink, ipad usually every other day but whenever she's a bit miserable after school. Telly isn't an issue for us, it's on 24/7 in this house and she's not that bothered by it but in the winter I'll put a film she likes on after school with a blanket and pillows. I only have 1 at school but I'll do the same when DS goes. I like to think of it as what would I really really want to do after a long day at work and go along those lines (minus the wine!)

Thanks for suggestions. I'd need to put these into place in the morning as some days I work a full day. We leave home and come back at the same time. :/
I really don't mind the TV and we do watch but as pp said I fear tantrums about switching it off at that time of the day!

I do make suggestions by the way (read a book, build some lego, go jump on the trampoline) but all they want to do is be chaotic!

Ipads. It's lerfect as give them 30mins ipad time. No arguing as it's dinner time and then they don't go back on them

If you’re not opposed to tv then I don’t see anything wrong with it.

My dd is much younger and sometimes I just need her to ‘stop’. I can see she’s tired but she works even harder at bouncing off the walls at that point and needs to focus. My preference would be books but they’re an interactive experience with my one at the moment

Yup. TV. They need time to unwind as much as we do.

With the TV I find just make sure you manage expectations helps stop tantrums about turning it off. If the programme they like is 15 mins long, and dinner is in half an hour away, say you can watch two episodes and then it's time to turn it off! Works for me with DC (3)!

Send them outside and let them be chaotic.

Tv here for 4 and 6 yo. Only way of keeping them away from the kitchen to allow me to cobble together a meal.