How to occupy children before school?

[Prettybird]

Dh has asked me to come on and ask what people do to keep their children occupied before school.

Ds is an early riser (between 6.45 and 7). He'll either come in to bed for a snuggle or will go and watch cbeebies. Dh gets up at about 10 past 7 (after the Radio 2 news and a s ong ), gets the breakfast stuff ready and then sends ds through to get me up at about 7.20/7.25. (Ds doesn't "allow" me to get up until he has come through to get me ).

Breakfast is usually finished by 7.45 and ds goes and watches cbeebies until dh takes him to school at about 20 to 9. (I leave for work just after 8).

Dh is worried that ds is watching too much tv and should be "doing" something - but is at a loss as to what.

What do other mumsnetters do?

walk to school earlier?
later bedtime?
how old is your ds? i think cbeebies is brilliant.

play with his toys????

I think that it sounds like you have a brilliant "family" routine.
Your little one knows what is happening every day and if he is happy with this arrangement so then why change it...If it aint broke, why fix it?
I think that as he gets older he will want to do his own thing any way and will assert his indipendance in time.

why not let him chill out in the morning , he will be bsuy all day at school so 1/2 t.v in the morning is o.k plus they learn things from c beebies anyway

Thanks for that.

Ds is 5 (just - his birthday was on Saturday) and started school 4 weeks ago. he's only in for half days at the moment (goes to his child mnders in the afternoon), but at the end of September will be in until 3.15 and then going to an after school club.

We've brought forward his bed time from 8 to 7.30 since he started school(although when I'm around , it usually slips back to closer to 8 - dh is stricter), but what time he goes to bed deosn't seem to affect when he wakes up (He's his fathers' son - his mother is a slug ).

On a Friday night he is allowed to stay up to watch Doctor Who, so it is 10 before he gets to bed - and he usually still wakes up at around 7!

At the moment dh stays with ds until the classes get called in, so walking to school earlier would just eat in to dh's time (he's currently studying). As ds is a confident and level headed wee boy, I suppose we will soon be happy enough to leave him at school at 8.45, which is when the janitor starts supervisong the play ground. (and I imagine they will soon stop the Primary 1 parents from accompanying thier little ones in to the lpaygorund to where the line up to go it). So that means dh could leave the house at 8.30.

Still leaves about an hour (15 minutes before breakfast, 45 minutes after) where he is watching cbeebies. But maybe we should just chill about that - but make more of an effort in the evenings to occupy him with things other than the TV.