What do you do with your reception children after school

[TheEveningSun]

My DS (4.5) started reception on Wednesday, straight in full time 8.15-3.30, he does couple of after school clubs till 4 o’clock. He’s so tired and emotional after school. I take him to the park for a bit but if we stay at home He demands the TV. I try to do things with him and play but he just ends up crying or fighting with his sister (2yo) or asks about the tv every 15 min.
I’m happy for him to watch for an hour whilst I’m cooking dinner but watching till bed time (7pm) is too much imo.
What’s your after school routine if you’re home by 4 o’clock?

He probably needs to zone out. Playing is likely massively overloading/overstimulating after a full day of school.

Personally unless it's causing any issues I would let him have TV. He probably needs to zone out to recover. You could try letting him have an hour tv then see if he wants to play or just accept that for now he needs that then reassess after half term once he is more used to the routine.

School is a lot, I’d take it easy for the first few weeks :)

Why do you have to do anything?

If you don't want him watching TV, do you have a toni box or similar he could zone out to on a bean bag?

Mines been watching TV or just relaxing in his room with his Yoto player or books. Its a huge adjustment for them and I have absolutely no problem with him winding down in the evening. It's not going to be forever.

I agree that he is obviously just needing to zone out and relax. I would let him especially this early on. He is probably shattered. I want to lie on the sofa after a day at work! Our bedtime routine starts about 6.15 so with dinner also included before that it’s not that much solid TV watching. Mine potter about and play with their toys and watch TV a bit too. Or in the garden if it’s still nice.

I let my DC watch the tv for an hour after school to decompress. It helps me too because it means I can carry on working for another hour. I don’t see the problem with chilling for an hour after a tiring day?

When you've had a busy day at work do you want to jump in to activities, or lay on the sofa? No need for afterschool plans. It's dinner time before you know it too.

Ds just started.

We've been doing pretty much nothing, coming home, and just listening to yoto, playing quietly.

I used to let mine watch TV, as they needed to chill out in the same way I need a bit of time after work before I launch into other things.

I give a choice of 3 possible things to do - too much and its just overload. We are screen free but all chilled options.

When my son was that age a few years ago it would be TV until dinner, and then doing something together like a puzzle or Lego until it was time to get ready for bed. They need to relax.

I think people have become so judgmental about screen time that we’ve stopped realising that children, like adults, need some down time rather than constantly doing an activity or playing. He’s had a long day, it’s ok for him to have that downtime for a while whilst he adjusts to his new routine.

Snack first of all, they are always starving.

Then I leave DD to play with her toys or she plays outside in garden with friends that live next door. She has about 40 mins of TV.

I don’t mind an hour of tv but 2h or over that is a lot., especially that his sister would want to watch it too. Yoto is a great idea. He likes to do his Lego if he has a new set. I agree the new school routine is a lot!

Do you let them watch tv in the morning too?

As little as possible! Snack as soon as he's out the door, straight home for flopping down for half an hour recovery, dinner time, toilet and then bath time, all padded out but recovery time.
Once all the germs go around in a couple of weeks it's going to be even worse, so we are just avoiding demands like the plague.
It's a really tough time for the little ones so just try to give them the time they need.
Good luck.

No TV in the morning here but I wouldn't mind if he wanted a couple of hours in an afternoon post school even if it meant his sister watching some of it too. I'm sure she also does 1000 other things during the day.

I let my little one watch tv but only if it's a cbeebies programme so I can kid myself it's wholesome and educational

I really wouldn't be pressuring them to go to the park etc. Just give him a snack and a drink and don't ask loads of questions. Perhaps leave some colouring out in case he's interested but otherwise just be a chill zone

Quiet activity and some calming music or an audio book. Little interaction or expectation. So in becomes a safe, constant habit.

Jigsaws, small world toys, some books out.

My Ds has been so exhausted and burnt out (ASD) that he’s gone back to having naps . We’ve had to put a request in for a reduced timetable they said no the first time but he can’t manage 😭

We don't do TV at all because he struggles with transitions as it is, so pulling him away from TV would be tough.
I would second yoto if you can afford one, he likes the soothing voice of the podcasts and I've made a custom card of a load of songs he likes.
Yesterday he was making up random song/band names and I was finding them on Spotify which he quite liked to listen (who knew Strawberry Socks is an actual band)

I used to take mine home to relax and watch tv with snacks. They have such a long day already, I wouldn't take them somewhere else, they'd be too tired.

If the weather is ok, a quiet space in the garden, mud to mix, stones to collect, some weeding with you.