Primary age kids meal at 4:30pm

[bluebelltwo]

What time do your primary aged DC eat their meal after school?

DS 1 and 2 Year 2 and 3. They've had nothing since lunchtime. I give them a drink and a small snack at 3:30 but then I find they don't eat all their dinner at 5:30 or get overhungry. Then they still want something else before bed.

Bring the meal forward an hour to 4:30pm then supper (cereal/milk/toast etc) before bed? I WFH so can do this.

2 nights a week they have clubs but they don't start til 6pm. DS1 in particular gets overhungry and hangry.

Mine are a bit older, year 3&4 and we eat at 6.30 ish because that's the earliest dh can get home. On cubs night they eat a bit earlier without us. They have packed lunches at school which seemed to make a difference for us, when they were on school lunches they were coming home hungry and didn't seem to be able towait so long for a meal.

This is it with school dinners. Have no idea how much they've had.

Mine are the same ages as yours OP. They have school lunch at 12, then a small snack once we get home around 3.30/4, then I usually do tea for about 5, or 4.30 if they say they are really hungry. They both go to bed at 7ish so I find eating any later than 5 doesn't really work for us.

I was a nanny to kids this age and used to give them dinner as soon as they got home at about 4.30 (just a quick tea as they'd had a "hot dinner" at school). They could then do their own thing for an hour, before a bath and a milk and cookie on the sofa and bed at 7.

I do same as pp. my two need feeding as soon as they get in and then generally cereal or toast plus a bit of fruit for supper.

Even my 14 year old likes his tea at 4.45pm. All my 3 dc are so hungry when they get in from school, I've tried a snack and tea at 6pm but then they don't eat all their tea because of the snack. I would rather they had no snack, an early tea and then fruit and cereal about 6.30/7pm.

Snack after school and dinner at 5- if still hungry before bed at 7.30 I’ll offer toast or an apple

Wow, your kids all go to bed impressively early! Mine (years 1 and 3) have toast or biscuits and fruit when they come in, but then don't have dinner until we all sit down together at 6:30 or even 7. They have a bath at 7:30 and then we do stories etc until 8:15. The older one then stays up with his light on reading until at least 9. They both get up about 7. If I put the older one to bed at 7 he'd be up by 5. They would feel babied by a 4:30 dinner, I think, and would then have to have another meal anyway.

Not to hijack, but how do all you 7pm bed-time families manage the mornings? Do you all get up very early?

When my DC were at primary...they'd eat dinner as soon as they got home...so between 3.30-4. Then something light at about 6.30/7... yoghurt, crackers, fruit, cake, etc

Year 1 child gro clock- she prob wakes between 6-6.30 but can’t wake us until 7 when the clock turns orange- most of the time she will drop back to sleep or least rest for those 30mins

@OnlyFoolsnMothers
Thank you for replying. So she is in bed for 12 hours a day?!
I'm missing a trick there. DS is also in year one and summer born, so not yet 5 1/2, and he sleeps for 10 1/2 hours on a good day.

Yep so also summer born, August born Yr 1 - always slept 11hrs
and tbh we just clamped down on her waking us up so early and she did start drifting back off to sleep on the odd occasion. I don’t mind her playing in her room once awake but don’t wake us up. All kids are different though, she’s very active like can’t sit still active so goes to sleep like a light switch. Her sister who’s 2 has already dropped her nap and I can tell needs far less sleep than her sister ever did, so doubt she’ll go to bed at 7/7.30 easily in years to come.

4/430 is for 6 yo and I eat same time

Mine sometimes do and sometimes don't have an afternoon snack and then we usually have dinner about 6-6.30.

My 5 year old goes to bed 7.30 and gets up 7.30.
8 year old sleeps 8.30-7/7.30 and 12 year old sleep 9.30-7

We don’t have this problem! year 2 DS goes to after school activity clubs and toddler nursery by the time we all tumble in the door at 545, cook dinner and sit down for dinner at 645/7 - we are all ravenous and eat mountains of food!