what do your children do when they come home from nursery?

[nasa]

DS (3.4) always ends up watching telly and sometimes I feel a bit guilty as I've not really seen him and so feel like we should do something together but at the same time he is tired and I think 'played out' from nursery. I'm always so pleased to see him but it's a difficult time of the day as he's tired and wants attention and I have house jobs to sort out. what does everyone else do?

My dd age 4 always chill s out with some TV...she wont do anything else! IKWYM though.

DD 4 yo goes to dance class one day afer nursery and for the remainder chills in front of tv before dinner and constantly calls out she's starving.

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dd (22 mths) follows me around screaming and pulling at my leg while I do household chores.... wish she could sit in front of TV!

Watches a vid or Cbeebies for about half and hour then we play (his choice - normally trains or role-playing).

Then we go a pick up DH and it starts all over again. Poor lad must be sick of having to entertain his parents

DD usually sits and vegges in front of TV whilst I cook her tea, but sometimes she wants to carry on with the 'project' she has been doing at nursery.

One night we were sticking bits of pasta onto cardboard bleedin' boxes right up until bathtime.

ah well, guess it's not that unusual. He just seems so tired when he gets back from nursery.

nasa, we do have a nice chat about her day, who she played with, what she did etc, and I always make a point of sitting down and eating with her. I think she needs time to chill too. Don't we all?

nasa - what time does your ds come home from nursery? What time is bedtime?

DD is home from nursery by 12.30 (not ready to stay for afternoons, and luckily my schedule can accomodate this). So, we get home and have lunch and a chat. Sometimes she then takes a nap (not over an hour or she has trouble falling asleep at night), though we are now phasing this out more and more. One afternoon a week she goes to Tumbletots, and one afternoon a week we usually go to the library. The other afternoons are split between playdates, playground visits, or a trip to feed the ducks. Sometimes we go out to Starbucks and I'll have a coffee while she has a muffin. Or she'll come with me on errands to chemist, bank, etc.

I find that we usually do go out after her nap/before her evening meal. Otherwise she watches too much tv or we both go a little stir crazy. Try to limit her tv time to a bit after bath and before bed. We talk alot about "important things" when she's in bed. It's my way of talking to her without distractions/interruptions, and I'm sure it's her way of delaying going to bed!

yeah, I always ask him all about his day although sometimes I actually think he doesn't want to talk about it - just switch off.

DS1 (4yrs) gets home from nursery (just afternoon session) at 3.30ish and tends to just veg in front of the TV until dinner time (6ish), He does get off and play with his little brother a bit but is usualyly just too tired

either dp or i pick ds up from nursery at 5. he gets tea there (hooray) so isn't hungry. normally he watches a bit of tv, or we just chill out on the sofa & talk nonsense, then it's bath & bed. goes to sleep earlier on nursery days...

nasa - I've found that dd will talk about her day if I ask in ways she responds to. If I just say "how was school" or "what happened at school today", I get single word answers. If I have her doll ask a question, or if I say something like "what drawing did you do today" or "was anyone naughty at school today" (for some reason that one always gets her to talk!), then she'll respond with some elaboration. But, sometimes they are tired, and just want to zone out.

good tip earlybird - i do say things like "who did you play with?" and "did you go outside today?"

We (me and the 2.7 and 0.10 year olds) get home circa 17.00. They then potter about and play with a few toys whilst I prepare tea. Tea is generally served at 17.30 and they eat it at the kitchen table in front of cbeebies. I clear away a bit at around 18.00 - 18.15 whilst they 'potter' again. I rarely manage to clear the phenomenal mess that baby ds makes completely away by this time, so end up shutting the door on it.

We then 'retire' to the living room where I am required to entertain them! - then mercifully at 19.00 ds goes to bed followed by dd at 19.30.

They are at Nursery 3 days per week.

DD goes to nursery 2 days a week, and gets home with DH between 5:30-6pm. So, we don't do much really. She has some play time, or watches CBebbies and tells me about her day. We have dinner together as a fmaily. She then may have bathtime (every other day) and/or more playtime. Then it is bed at 7:30, with story in bed.

Like Hulababy's dd, mine goes to nursery 3 days a week and I collect her on my way back from work. We ususally get home abut 5.30 pm. She usually has something small to eat (since she's had tea at nursery) and plays with whatever she wants for a while or watches a DVD for a bit. At about 6.45 we calm down and read some books together ready for bed/bath and milk at 7 pm ish.

I normally get home with my daughter at about 5.30. By the time we have eaten dinner, had a bath and got ready for bed we dont have much time for anything else. We have a cuddle on the sofa and watch the last 20 mins of bedtime hour on CBeebies then I take her to bed and read her a story from the library. That just about fills our time together.
If you feel guilty you dont spend much time with him when he gets home til bedtime why not let him help with getting dinner ready. My DD loves this as she feels like a 'big girl'.