Tell me about your evening routine

[sunshine75]

I'm curious as to what other people do between school finishing and bed time. This is coming from a slightly selfish perspective as we try to make an effort to eat dinner together as a family, both read stories etc.

However, I bloody hate eating my dinner so early and as I like to go running several times a week I have to go quite late when I'm feeling really full after dinner and just want to sit down and watch tv.

Anyway, this is what we do. Any suggestions on how this selfish mummy could re-arrange it .

3.15 - grandparents pick dd up from school

4pm I get in from work, prepare dinner and play with dd or take her to swimming lesson etc

5pm dh gets in from work

5.30ish - eat dinner

5.30-6.30 - on a perfect day we do something together (play board game or go to the park) on a less than perfect day we have an argument about dd not eating her dinner.

6.30-7.30 bath/bed stories

7.30 - I try to go for a run/to the gym but often can't be arsed.

9pm - eat junk food 'cos I'm bloody hungry after eating my dinner so early.

In an aideal world I would go for a run when I get in from work and we would eat about 7.30. However, I am aware that this is selfish and not at all practical for a 4 year old!
So come on - what do you do differently?

We eat around 7ish,kids go to bed straight after dinner.its very british to eat dinner that early,u could try different times.u don't need to be too full or u won't feel like going running,could u eat a small portion before and another one afyer running?

We don't eat with the children during the week.

we dont eat together as a family during the week as dh doesnt get home until around 7pm (or later). I feed the kids around 5/5.30pm and then me and dh eat later on around 8/8.30pm

We eat at 6pm every night as a family. Then bath, pjs and bed.

The dcs eat at 5.30-6pm, after I collect them from the cm's- dh and I eat at about 7.30-8pm. Dh or I go fr a run/the gym at 7pm, the other prepares dinner so we eat when the runner returns!

We always eat as a family at the weekends, but it just doesnt work in the week- dh gets in at 7pm, we like to eat later and the excerise thing.

We have a much older child (10), so not sure if it helps, but we eat at 6. If you did that could you go running between 5 & 6 some days at least while your DH prepares dinner?

When dd was smaller we used to give her a substantial healthy snack pretty much as soon as she got in from school (carrot/celery sticks, peanut butter, oatcakes, cheese, etc) so that she would be ok until 6.

these days she eats chocolate biscuits out of the tin & makes herself a cup of tea . . . ho hum

Don't do a bath every night for starters , what a palava. Go for a run at 6.30 while your DP does bedtime a couple of times a week, swap on other nights so he can do something else.

We eat at 6 as well. If you did that you could some days fit in your run between DH coming home and tea time? And the other days go later? We also have some days where the DC eat earlier and DH and I ate later - perhaps doing a mix of eating together and not would work better for you?

I eat with the DC.

You could try eating half your dinner with DD and then the other half later on? Is that a stupid idea? I just think it's important to eat with children most of the time.

Ooooh, some good ideas.

Might try going for a run earlier some nights and all eating together about 6.30.

In my head, I often think about going running at 5.30am just to get it out of the way but in reality this never happens!

Coming at it from a completely different perspective, I'm a fitness and nutrition instructor and I go out to teach a 7pm-ish class. I was finding that I was tired and not in the mood to teach after my dinner, and feeling 'heavy' as a result of eating.

If you look at what you're eating, you may be able to tweak it so that you don't feel so full / tired. Any pasta / potato / hi carbohydrate food can leave you feeling lethargic after eating. For me, eating a plate of pasta makes me want to snooze (which I find annoying as I want to be full of energy!).

As a rough guide, if you look at your plate, aim to have 1 portion of protein (lean meat, fish, eggs, or avocado, a portion is about the size of your fist); 1 portion of slow release carb (same portion size guide as for protein) like whole grain rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta, millet, cous cous; and the rest of the plate loaded with greens and veg such as spinach, kale, lettuce, broccoli, peppers.

By ditching white flour / pasta / bread, and switching to a different balance of essential nutrients (ie more greens, less carbs, but still enough) you should find that you'll be satisfied after eating, and don't feel that bloated fullness / sleepiness.

When you get home from your run, have a banana milkshake to soothe and replenish energy and to help you avoid the junk munch.

Obviously there are other ways of cutting it, and this is really onlybare bones info, but I found this transformed my life in regards to training and meant that me and my kids can enjoy an early dinner together - but I like puppymonkey's suggestion too ;) me time is all-important!

After school do pick up.

walk home
sometimes via park.

eldest has after school activity 3times a week

mon we get back in at 6pm

its tea for kids.

I sit down with them at table
tv of and have light snack or drink and talk about their day.

hubby works lots of lates.

so as eating with 3kids 2under b3 can be nosiy messy and stressful we eat later with wine and talk properly about our day.

idealy bedtimes 7pm although do stagger it.

have to fit eldests homework in.

I dont bath every night.

tuesdays and wed no clubs so try do something nice together then,

with weather getting darker I would o run whilst your dh makes tea.

at weekends and hubbys day off we tend to eat as a family.

Wie all come home AT 6pm so Dinner is never on the table before 6.30pm at the earliest. Then wash (bath only twice a week), pj and her story.

While I cook DH deals with the achoolbag and DD reads to him.

This is virtually the same since DD was 11 months and I returned to work. On the non-work days we still do the same.

DD gets a small tea at her childminder or something like a sandwich at home.

Thanks decaff - super advice. Will try it out this week

DH would want a divorce if we ate that early. We eat later at around 7.30pm/8. The children eat at 5.30pm. On Fridays and Saturdays DS (11) eats with us and the younger DDs still eat at the earlier time.

I have to eat lunch around 2pm or I would be very hungry and therefore irritated waiting until 8pm.

Older DD had dinner with us on Friday as a special treat as she starts reception on Wednesday. She was on her best behaviour and loved the candles, etc and grown up talk. For about 15 minutes.

You could eat a snack with DD instead of dinner, then eat after running. Or going for run at 6.30 is a good alternative. If your 4 year old is like mine then 6.30 would be too late to eat, would be all grumpy, need to be in bath/having stories by then.

I am thinking of joining a running club for first time this winter as I struggle to run in dark on own and it's getting dark bloomin' early already! I ran at 6.30 in the morning for about 6 weeks and hated it, some love it though!

Meant to say we never eat with kids during the week, they eat 5-5.30, we eat 7.30/8 or after exercise for me.

A couple of nights a week could you prep dinner as normal but then leave DD and DH to eat together while you go for a run and then have yours when you get back? DD then gets some one-on-one with time with her daddy and you get to run with an empty tummy. (You might also get to skip a couple of man-pleasing meals per week and fix yourself a salad instead.)

As there's just the DC and me I eat when they do as otherwise I'd just end up picking at things in the evening and end up consuming more calories but no proper food . We eat early on Mondays as I help at Brownies, about 6:30 on Tuesdays, about 6 on Wednesdays, Thursday DC are at their dads house and around 6:30/7 ish if the DC are with me on Fridays. Luckily they are happy to eat whenever the food appears and probably easier that they are a bit older (6 and 8)

We don't eat together as DH doesn't get home till after 6pm and I feel this is too late for the DCs as they have a bath/story/bed etc about 6/630ish.

It works fine for us and we prefer to eat later so are happier this way anyway. I have never worried about us not eating together as we do plenty of other stuff together.

Hi sunshine75

3 possiblities:

Option 1: If the evening run is preferred for you - have a snack ready for the kids (to tide them over), hand over to your DH when he gets home (let him play or bath kids in that time). You can then go for your run and grab a quick shower and all have dinner together at a slightly later, but more convenient time.

Option 2: consider moving your running time to the mornings until the kids are old enough to join you or mind themselves.

Option 3: Consider running during lunch break at work? Some workplaces have shower rooms. You may have to start your working day slightly earlier to allow time, but you could potentially do this in the middle of the day which is better in winter months during day light savings.

HTH.

We've always eaten together, around 5.30 - 6. Has to be as then there is always someone off to an activity. That said, I'd fade away of starvation if I didn't .
However, you'd not catch me going running in a million years, so I can't share your dilemma.

our routine is: Pick up from school at 3.30, sometimes walking home via the park etc, we play at home, I get dinner ready (he sometimes helps), we eat dinner as a family around 5.30-6 then after dinner we play again/chat/watch a bit of TV until just before 7 when one of us gets him ready for bed, does his reading etc and then puts the light out at 7.30 and breathes a sigh of relief if it's been a tough evening.

I can't eat that early and as DH doesn't return home until 8 or 9pm I eat then. So DD eats at 5 (depending on activities/clubs), bath only 3 times a week, play, TV, books in bed, bed/sleep 7/7.30pm (she's 4).

We eat breakfast together every day though and lunch too at weekends.