Does anyone else do dinner at 6pm and bed at 7pm with small children?

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We have always ate when dh gets in a 6pm, but now my oldest has started school she is exhausted and needs to be in bed by 7pm otherwise she is a nightmare the next day. I am reluctant to bring dinner forward as I like us all eating together, but am struggling with the oldest dd literally eating her dinner and then straight up to get ready for bed! Is anyone else like this??

We've always done tea, bath, bed in fairly quick succession altho bed by 7 would be ambitious. If DD is tired we go up about 6.45 so bed about 7.20.

I've recently realised DD eats better a bit earlier so I'm eating with her at 5.30 when I manage to get tea that early and DH heats his up later. It's not quite as good as all of us eating together but it's nice for DH to have some time with her before bed that isn't focused on tea.

No, kids get fed at tea time. I couldn't make them wait for someone to come home. tea gets put in the oven for the husband or he knocks his own up.

They get fed at 12pm at school, do people really make them wait until evening before getting their tea? Mine would knaw my arm off.

We do tea at 5.20, bath at 6, bed by 6.30 and asleep by 6.45 else both of mine become a big fat tires mess!

My DH starts work early and is home at 5. We eat dinner between 5 and 5:30. Upstairs for wash, teeth brushing and PJs at 6-ish (they have a bath in the mornings) and then stories. In bed between 6:30 and 6:45 usually.

Before she started school she didn't used to go to bed until 8pm and slept through until about 8.30pm the next day (she did afternoon pre-school) now we have to leave the house at 8.30pm so I've had to bring bedtime forward to 7pm (which doesn't suit toddler as she still naps which is annoying) and I'm reluctant to bring dinner forward but did feels a bit sick going to bed on a full tummy! I wish they had the option of afternoon school!!

We eat 6ish, sometimes a bit earlier. After bed its pjs, clean teeth, sometimtes 10mins of tv then bed about 7 - meaning sleep a bit later after stories.

We had to change tea and bed time when ds started school. He was starving when he got home so he has tea at 4.30 and into bed by 6.30. We couldn't keep him waiting else he had the major grump.

Yes. Mine do and always have done. We get in about five and they can have a snack (fruit or pancakes). We then have dinner when DP gets in so about 6.15. Youngest goes to bed 7/7.30ish and the other 8ish.

If she's going to bed feeling sick because she's just been fed then surely feeding her earlier is the answer? There's nothing to say she can't still sit at the table with you for a chat and a small snack at the usual time.

Because DS is 4, the DC have supper at 5, DS is in bed straight after, DD 8 goes at 7, we have our supper after they're in bed. Apart from that, the room's too small to pull the table out so we can have 4 chairs round it, we only do that at Christmas.

We used to do dinner at 6 and bed at 7.30 or so. It might be that you have to change the schedule just for a term or so, until your DD gets used to her new day; it doesn't mean you can't then go back to eating together when she is coping better with an earlier start.

We eat at 6pm somwtimes a bit earlier or later. Bed for my younger two ages 4 and 7 is 7-7:20. They get up from 7am, though dd slept til 7:30 am today and we leave the house by 8:10 to get to school.

We have always had dinner at that time and over the five kids it never occurred to me to change it.

The kids tend to get a snack at pick up but with after school clubs, activities or trips to the park etc dinner couldn't be much earlier.

A lot of families with young children don't eat together because one parent gets home a lot later than 6. Doesn't seem to be the end of the world for us so far. We enjoy meals all together at the weekend.

I'm not 100:/: sure if she feels sick because of a full tummy, it could be just that she doesn't want to go to bed because she thinks she is missing out on family time :( I've thought of doing maybe a large snack after school (we get in 4pm) like a hot chocolate and a Nutella sandwich and then a smaller portion of dinner, does anyone do this, if so does it work out ok or do dc just fill up on the snack and not want dinner?

Mine get a snack and still eat their dinner. Tends to be fruit and some kind of bread type product fir snack, spine, those bread rolls with little choc chips or croissant or French stick and cheese. Depends what we have in. The older kids don't always have an after school snack but little three do, though ds3 and Ds4 tend to just have fruit at the moment.

Is the stomach ache related to eating or could it be a bit of anxiety re starting school?

To be honest, we've had to readjust many times, mine are 9 and 11 now and we had got back to all eating together at 6-6.30 for a couple of years when they were between 6 and 8ish, their after school activities were all done by 5.30. Now they are older none of it starts till at least 5.30 so we're back to early tea for them before they head off to Brownies, Scouts etc. But it won't be forever, so I would say go with what suits for now and re-think again in a year of two.

I give mine a small healthy snack when they get in after school. So oatcakes with marmite or fruit/veg sticks or a lump of cheese. Then tea at 6 while in PJ's.

We do snack at 4ish straight in from school, usually carb based and fruit; crumpet, scone, small sandwich etc... I try to be healthy but I'm not always successful! Then dinner at 6.30 with everyone, how much they eat is hit and miss at this time (but I think that is age related fussiness more than anything!), wash and bed by 7.30/8ish. She's 3 and rarely sleeps more than 11 hours so we pushed dinner back as far as possible in an attempt to keep her fuller for longer and hopefully sleeping a wee bit more!

We eat at 5, youngest goes to bed at 6.30 so like to have abit of time for a bath and to settle her down before she goes to sleep

We've always done early tea for the kids because for many years DH didn't come home at all, so no one to wait for!
It's only just now (at 8 and 9) that the older ones aren't ravenous straight after school and we do tea around 6pm (still not late enough to all eat together) and they are in bed at 8pm. I'd move it forwards, it'll change back again soon enough. Go with what works now.

We've always done tea at 6, bed at 7. Worked fine had a bit of fruit or a crumpet when they came in, then dinner on the table at 6, youngest in the bath by 6.30, then stories and bed by 7. No one ever seemed to have a problem going from meal to bed to bath. Now they are older so not so rushed but always hated the thought of 2 lots of meal prep and 2 lots of tidying up after.

Could she eat dinner at maybe 5:30 ish and then have pudding when you and DH have dinner?

My other half doesn't get home until 7, sometimes later. My 3 year old has dinner 4.30-5 then bath and ready for bed at 6.30-7 and then I cook dinner for me and my better half ready for about 7.30.

Yes we eat together around 6.30 and then bath and in bed by 7.30

Dd is 5