How to fill the extra two hours without TV?!

[ChoccyJules]

DD has just swapped from 3 days at my work's nursery, where I picked her up at 5.30pm to her allocated 15hours at a school nursery. She's going to after-school club some of the time but at least once a week I will be picking her up at 3.30pm.

In the olden days we'd get home by 6pm and I'd let her have half an hour or so in front of the TV while I did dinner and then DH came home. Now she wants TV when we get in at 3.45pm! She's absolutely shattered and not up for much else but I Can't let her veg til 6.30, now can I?

It's actually quite tricky. She feels as tired at 4pm as she used to do at 6pm.

snack & drink & half hour veg - by which point she will probably perk up and you can do something until tea time.

Can you go somewhere inbetween so you get home later? She'll probably be distracted by an outing.

She might also just feel tired settling into a new setting with new people atm.

I am in same boat. Due to grizzling teething six month old, DD1 is getting telly and vegging. Not ideal but she is way too tired for anything else and if we went somewhere in the car, she would fall asleep. I am hoping she will get less tired as time goes on and we can at least do some baking or puzzles or something. Will be interested to see other responses.

Confession......I regularly let my DC's watch TV from the second they get in the door. They are knackered beyond belief, and I genuinely believe it does them no harm.

Disclaimer: they have clubs 2 nights out of the 5 (swimming and gymnastics)

I should imagine that you will get loads of replies telling you to entertain them every spare second they have, but mine are just too tired. I think it's up to you really, and maybe assess every day as it comes? Sometimes TV, sometimes drawing, play-doh, etc etc.

When I collect my eldest from school he goes out the back garden (so does DS2). They play with the football, or just chase each other. Or play in the sandpit. And then they'll come in and watch 30 mins of TV before dinner is ready.

I think maybe people are right and as it's early days she's more tired now than she's going to be long-term.

I certainly couldn't take her anywhere but home at the moment (though she does walk home) but could build in the park in the future. Or do the 30mins TV then do something else.

Today she fell asleep at 5pm....

Oh choccy she is shattered! I wouldn't worry too much at the moment or beat yourself up. Let her chill for the time being.

Snack. Read her a story/big cuddle (I say this but I always used to fall asleep if I sat down).

Or do the telly when she gets in, then telly off at 4.30 and do stuff then.

I usually pick up DS from preschool at 1pm. We do shops / park / cafe until about 2.30-3 or until I run out of money (!) then we come home and he has the TV on while I do housework, play with DD (17m) etc. If DD sleeps then I take the chance to do things with him that are hard when she is awake like puzzles or trains but if she doesn't he has it on until about 5pm when they come downstairs and outside in the garden while I make dinner. Its normally about 5.45 before we get back upstairs so they have another 20 mins or so then I run the bath for just after 6, bed by seven, possibly with 10 mins of Peppa somewhere in there. I fugure he's been at school all morning doing stuff and on 3 days a week he is at the CM and plays with the other kids all afternoon so a couple of hours 2 afternoons a week is fine. Also he learns numbers, colours, shapes etc from the shows.