After school routines

[Cappuccino17]

Can you share what your after school routines look like? Do you bathe your kids? Do extra curricular activities? Watch tele? What snacks do they eat before evening dinner?
Do you change them out of their school uniform straight away?

We have after school activities 3x per week. I take them to swimming straight from school pick up one day, so 1 snack in the car before, 1 after. The other activities start slightly later so I usually give them a snack when we get home and make a dinner that they can eat half before and half after the activity - usually pasta or wraps, maybe soup. Then a decent pudding when we get home - eg yoghurt and fruit, banana and custard etc.

We do a bath or shower most nights, I bring shampoo to the swimming pool so they shower there that day. The day the activity finishes later they just have a quick wash or shower, depending on how grubby they are!

Mine usually peel bits of uniform off from the second they walk in the door so I don't really get them to change, they keep their polos on and then put on shorts/joggers/whatever is to hand.

Try and get upstairs and into pjs between 7-7:30pm, stories and lights our by 8. They are 6 and 4 so in Y2 and YR.

Just adding quickly as missed this part - we usually watch tv when we get home for a bit, basically while I make dinner. They also play games or do colouring, but when they're tired they just argue non stop so the tv lets us all chill out for a bit!

For snacks they can choose one healthy and one treat - healthy is fresh or dried fruit, nuts, sometimes I'll make oat bars if I have time. Treats are a pack of crisps, one half of a kinder bueno, or a biscuit.

DS1 is YR, this is what usually happens:

3.20-3.30pm - change into home clothes, loo, wash hands and face
3.30-3.50pm - play or ask me to play on MS Paint or watch TV
3.50-4.20pm - pick up DS2 from nursery, play outside a bit (with DH while I cook dinner)
4.20-4.50pm - dinner
4.50-5.30pm - play
5.30-6.30pm - watch TV, whilst eating a fruit/veg bowl
6.30pm - bath, bedtime story, asleep by 7pm

Mine stay in uniform, fresh new one each day. Dancing three times a week straight from school. Otherwise it’s just home and play. They don’t get television or devices during the week.

This is going to vary depending on the ages of the children. Why do you want to know?

Y2 and mostly in after school clubs until 4:30, home 4:45. Dinner is served between 5 and 5:30 depending on whether dad does pickup so I can start dinner early. After dinner is homework, followed by pudding and bath and teeth brushing. Reading (one child reads to me in evenings and one in mornings, and then I read a couple of chapters to them), and then bed typically 7:30-8pm

Consider offering some free playtime or a designated 'unwind' period after school to help your kids relax before any activities. It may enhance their post-school routine.