How we spend the evening until we've got them down.

[PrettyCandles]

What's your child's evening look like?

With a 5yo and a 3yo ours in theory looks something like this:

5.30 - supper (but can start as late as 6.15)
6.45 - bath
7.15 - story (one each) and milk
7.30 - bed (but generally more like 7.45, and can be as late as 8.15 if everything else ran late)

And how long do you sit over supper? We have the slowest eater in the world: ds. And it can be very frustrating.

And do you eat with the children?

Mine is pretty similar.
I would love to sit with my children to eat,but as I am generally the only one home,spent most of their mealtimes being a bloody waitress!

Ours is (with 9mth ds)

Wake him up about 5.30 (he sleeps from 3 after his 3pm bottle) and give him his tea.

Make up next days bottles.

7.30 bottle, bath and then in bed and asleep for about 8.15.

4.15pm dd (14), ds1 (12) ds2 (10) home from school.
4.30 - 5.30 depending on whether there is swimming, after school clubs or football practice, we have dinner. ds4 (18mths) eats like a horse, ds3 (3.5yrs can be a little slower but usually ok). Dinner generally takes about half an hour, not much more and yes we always sit at the table and eat with the kids.
6.45 - 7.00 Bathe ds3 and ds4
7.20 Milky drink, story (sometimes done by one of the older ones)
7.30 Bed for ds3 and ds4. Instant calm and quiet descends upon the QE household.
7.30 dd, ds1 and ds2 do their homework, make their sandwiches for the next day and finish off their chores.
8.30 Lights out for ds2.
9.30 Lights out for ds1.
10.30 Lights out for dd.

With me now working 3 eves a week from 4pm to 9pm, things can fall a bit behind schedule with dh doing it but generally things stick to a fairly good routine.

3year old and 8 month old, it goes a little something like this:

4:30-5 = Dinner (depending when DH finishes work)
clear away dinner things
6:15 = Bath time
6:45 (ish) Story time
7 bed for DD1 & final bf then bed for DD2

I like to get Dinner on the table earlier rather than later so that we can sit for ages.

We have ds1 (12), ds2 (11), dd(7) ds3(2.5)
5pm-5.30: depending what the eldest 3 are doing after school (choice of drama on 2 separate days, choir, science club, cricket club), the children eat. i might have a pitta bread and some hummus at the same time, but my main meal is later.
After that, a run round the garden, or they go on their bikes for a short time.
6-6.30pm Bath for dd and ds3. Ds1 and ds2 start their homework, sometimes making and receiving phone calls, depending on who's filled in their homework diary properly.
7pm If ds3 doesn't seem tired, he plays a bit more, or will have extra stories. I like to get him down by 7.30pm but it doesn't always work that way.
By 8pm latest: prepare supper for dh and self - either something simple from scratch, or warm up, eg a casserole if I've had time to cook during the day.
Dd goes to bed 8pm latest.
Dh gets home around 8.30-9pm. Then we eat. if he's not in by 9 there's a rule that he'll ring me in advance & I'll eat without him as I get ravenous !
Sometimes the older boys have a portion of our supper if it's not too late, otherwise they grab a banana or slice of toast and ds2 goes up for 9pm lights off, ds1 for 9.30 lights off, but he has been known to skulk around until 10.30 or beyond...

Dinner around 6 unless he has a friend round, in which case 5 or 5.30. We eat together about 5 days a week.

Upstairs about 7 pm, to get changed. He only has a bath about 2 or 3 times a week and normally before dinner. He might have a shower after dinner if he's getting a bit whiffy.

Lie down about 7.20, stories, cuddles, milk. Lights down and ds in bed about 7.30. We pop up and down as requested for the next half hour or hour until he falls asleep.

He's 3.

dd is 2.5, not at nursery yet; dh is self-employed and works funny hours. dd wakes up anything between 7.30 and 8.30am, and usually has an hour's nap in the afternoon.

7-7.30pm supper (all of us, usually - unless dh working. Earlier supper if dd has a friend over as we eat later than anyone else we know )

7.30-8pm bath, then milk and potty and dvd

8.30-9pm teeth brushed, story, bed and cuddles

The whole routine was half an hour earlier till the evenings got so long and light...we sometimes end up going for a stroll after supper now, or sitting in the garden.

This is all going to change when dd starts nursery...

It seems that ours is fairly oridnary. I did wonder how others do it, as we seem to be totally child-centred for 2 solid hours. Standard, I guess! I often wonder what's a good time to phone other parents in the evening (never seem to get it right, always get them in the middle of their own routines).

We generally eat with the children (dh generally either gets home in time to join in or works so late that he has supper at work). I would love to have 'grown-up supper' from time to time, but find 8-9pm too late.

Bedtime is my nemesis.

DD has always been a nightmare. I try to start as early as possible because it can take forever.

In general supper at 5.00, bath at 5.45, one cbeebies (well, ABC kids) - reason for this is it's the only way to get DD out of the bath/into pjs/teeth cleaned/hair brushed. I try to trade this for a story most nights, but often have to start deducting cbeebies, then stories one by one to get her dry/dressed etc.

Bedroom for 7pm, then stories until 7.30.

In reality this is 15 minutes of me saying "which story would you like?", "DD! Which story would you like?", "DD it is not playing time, it's bedtime", "ok unless you tell me I am going to choose one", "right, I'm reading little princess" "back into bed please (gritted teeth)" "DP GET THOSE KITTENS OUT OF HERE", "DD STOP PUTTING THE KITTENS INTO THE WARDROBE".

Then 15 minutes of stories at the end of which DD will always ask for another one. Then water, then ricecakes, then tell me about the monsters.

Then start screaming when I leave the room. Then come out repeatedly for an hour or so.

5.30 Eat tea
6pm Think about having a bath
6.30 all nice and clean, has 3 stories, then toilet and teeth.
6.45-7pm (depends how long stories were) Bedtime.

See him again in an official capacity at 7am.

5-5.30pm Tea (we try to eat at the same time but not always, depends on DH's shifts)

6pm - Bath

7pm - Milk for both

Bed no later than 7.30pm for both.

Jessi is 2 next month and Becky is 8 months

Ours is 3 yrs (just)

I eat with him at midday, then it goes:
cook tea/dinner from 4.30 as he watches Underground Ernie.

He wolfs his food.. 20 mins meal time is over.
Just play/read together

6pm - Daddy gets home (varies)

6 - 7pm go for a family walk/drive/ whatever takes our fancy.

7.15 - 7.30 - Bath/wash time followed by story or hide and seek time in pjs

8pm: Bed.

Asleep up to 15mins later. Sleeps through till 8am.

With our 2yo twins, the routine is

1630 dinner

1800 bath

1830 milk and stories

1900 cots

Sleep through until 0630 on work day or 0800 on non work days

kayzed, glad to see we're not the only ones still up at 8.30 on MN
Another baby due beginning December for us, and also eking the last of the naps out of dd (2.5). Good luck!

3 kids - ds1 (14), ds2 (12.5) & dd (3.10)

5.00 - Tea time for DD
5.30 - Tidy toys away for quiet time & tv
6.00 - DH gets home (when he isn't working away, obv))
6.30 - DD bath time with DH
7.00 - DD story and bed with DH

The rest of us eat together at around 7.30pm. DS1 & 2 have a bath after tea. Bed at 9.30pm.

We don't eat with DD on weekdays as she really needs to be in bed at 7pm in order to be up and civilised at 7am, she has always been a big sleeper, all the kids are (get it from DH and I, I think, we are total bedmonsters). There just isn't enough time to fit it in between DH getting home and her bedtime.

Yes...me too, Kayzed. Love the relaxed, family evening hanging-out thing. But I do know its likely to change with nursery starting in September, let alone a second child - and wouldn't be possible if DH started work early either. Ah well, will wallow in it while we can!

I've got ds 6.4yr old,dd1 4.5yrs old and dd2 2.5yr old.
5-kids watch t.v while I prepare dinner(this is the only time they get to watch t.v in the school week)
5:30-dinner for all 3 kids.
6pm-Daddy comes home and all 3 kids spend 30mins with him while I clear tea things away,get school stuff sorted for the next day and run the bath
6:30-all in the bath,tho occassionaly ds will jump in the shower.
6:50-all out of bath/shower get them dry and into Jammies.They all have a cup of milk.
7pm-clean teeth,then they each get to choose a book.
7:10-we all crowd into one of the bedrooms and chat about the day and read the stories.
7:20-they all go to their own beds and I come and saygoodnight to them all individualy.
7:30-lights out for dd1 and dd2.
7:50-lights out for ds

Dinner generally lasts 30mins max.At the weekend me and dh will eat with the kids at 5:30 but during the week we eat after the kids are in bed.

dd is 18mths

6.30 - Dinner
8.00 - bath
8.15 - 9.00 - freetime (story etc)
9.00 - Drink of milk and bed. (sometime still awake at 9.30)

9.30 may seem late but we live n Italy and this is quite normal. In the summer months children are out with parents till all hours. Our dd sleeps right through until 8.00ish in the morning which I love.

4-5 homework change uniform do bag for tomorrow
5-6pm tea - first parent home makes it.

a bath any time around now
freetime to do whatever one pleases

9pm big brother

10pm bed

its soooooo hard these days sob sob i'm so glad i'm none of you