Struggling - HELP, What works for your 3 and 6 yr old?

[Purgatory]

I am struggling and need some help with routines as its putting family life and our marriage under a lot of stress.
I think having thought about it that a lot of it comes from not having a set routine and aksing too much of the kids so I am keen to know what works in your house, and if anyone

1. Dinner - What time do you eat dinner ? do you eat with the kids? or with DH - I work and kids in nursery and school by the time I pick them up and get home its about 530 traffic permitting.

1. What time do the kids go to bed and do they have the same bedtime given their ages. Ds 6yrs does in our house and protests and lies in his bed from about 730 till 910 till he goes to sleep but then i have reall hard slog getting them up at 700 the next morning. ( i still would like an evening if possible - i usully fall asleep about 930

1. do they do clubs at this age ( mine dont) and the friends to tea thing we dont do that because i am working and i have just realised that thers a whole circuit and me and my kids havent been part of as i've had a few days off for sport etc

thanks for the reading my waffle any help advice gladly accepted.

I can tell you what we do, but I'm a SAHM so I'm sure it wouldn't work for you. My children are 5.3 and 2.10.

The children eat around 5-5.30pm. I prepare something for myself and DH to eat once the children have gone to bed. Sometimes it's the same thing, sometimes something else. At weekends we eat together.

I get them upstairs for a bath around 6.30-6.45, then into pyjamas. DD1 goes into her room and looks through her books or plays quietly while I get dd2 to sleep (7 ish). I then go through to dd1 and read her a story, chat about her school day etc until about 7.30-7.45pm when she goes to sleep. DH helps with one or the other if he's home early enough. They both wake up about 6.30 usually. (Doesn't always work exactly to plan obviously!)
DH and I then eat together once the children are asleep, then generally have about an hour spare before I want to go to bed!

DD1 does dance club and swimming once a week after school and we have friends to tea or she goes somewhere roughly once a week.

Not sure if this helps, but it is what we do!

thank you sound organised and I think that is what we lack here - does your child go to sleep at 745 ? i am so jealous - do they do loads of sport at school?

DD2 is asleep now (7.25pm) - DH is in with DD1 and she should be asleep within 10-20 mins normally, although it does seem to be a bit more of a battle recently. I don't think the warm evenings and bright sunshine help much...
I don't think they do loads of sport at school - more running around at playtime - but they do walk to and from school everyday which is about 15 mins each way. She hasn't had dance club or swimming today. (On swimming day she is always noticeably more tired).

Do your children eat before you get them home at 5.30, or do you then start cooking? I can see why it gets chaotic as it is all getting a bit late, but I don't really see an obvious alternative for you....Maybe if your elder son did something active for half an hour and you put him to bed at 8pm instead, he might go to sleep quicker..? Sorry I can't think of a magic solution!

Hiya Purgatory,
I have a 3 and a 6 yr old too!

We have dinner all together when DH gets home from work - 5.30 or thereabouts. I only work 1 day a week though - is much more difficult if you are working full time. We usually have leftovers on the day I work as it's quicker.

Bedtime is 7.30pm for both although we allow DS (6 yrs) to read on his own until 8pm. He's often still awake at 9.30pm too arghhh!

My DS has just started doing clubs - mostly sports. The friends coming for tea thing can be a whole can of worms especially with boys fighting etc - you are lucky not to have to bother imo!!

right ds just gone to bed !

i need help or an extra six hours to the day.

Mine are 6 and 3 and I work two days a week
ds has sch dinners and I feed dd a cooked meal in the day so they just have csandwiches at home , me and dh eat after they're in bed
they go to bed at the sane timeas they have bath and stories together
we try to eat together at weekends
six yr old has a friend for tea once a half term and once every sch holidays
sports - he does tennis after sch on one day
and swimming lesson
I don't think they need to do loads at thus age
the days I work are a struggle, dragging them up earlier than I'd like. A rush to get them to childcare on time and to pick them up... And that's just 2 days
I'm full if admiration for working full time parents

bumping