Share your tips with Birds Eye: how do you manage the after-school evening routine? £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[EllieMumsnet]

With the new term officially up and running, getting your DC back into a good routine after the holidays can be tricky; from juggling after-school clubs, homework, chores, mealtimes and bedtimes. Birds Eye want to know your top tips on managing your family's evening routine.

Here’s what Birds Eye have to say: "Evening times are extremely busy for young families, and at Birds Eye we’re committed to helping mum and dad when it comes to easing stress at teatime. Our entire chicken range has just been awarded Mumsnet Rated, following an independent tasting panel judging us on our taste and quality - this is something we are incredibly proud of. All of our chicken is made with 100% chicken breast, and can be cooked in 20 mins. It is also packed with protein, and has no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives and makes a great addition to a nutritionally balanced meal. Convenience without the guilt, freeing up your evening for other important tasks."

So, do you opt for great meals from the freezer? Is there a no-TV-until-homework-is-finished rule? Or maybe you take inspiration from this ‘fidget spinner chores’ and turn your evening routines into a fun game? Whatever it is, Birds Eye want to hear it!

Share your top tips on the thread below and every MNer who posts will be entered into a prize draw. One lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a £300 Amazon voucher.

Thanks, and good luck.

MNHQ

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My DC's are always ready for tea around 4.30 - after a full day at school and their walk their and back. I have a sticker chart on the dining room door with a smiley face for a clean plate, and 5 smileys equals spending money on Saturday to buy their magazine and some sweets. Because I don't have that much time I reach for the freezer for the Birds Eye food, the freshness of the frozen vegetables give me reassurance that they are getting their 5 a day (3 at school and 2 at home), So it is baked chicken nuggets, fish, peas and our favourite sweetcorn and clean plates all around.

we're really lucky in that we can normally have our tea all together. Before anyone is allowed dessert, we all have to get the table cleared, wiped and laid for breakfast the next morning. Only then can we go and sit in the living room with a cup of tea and a biscuit and fruit - same rules for everyone means that teens/pre teens don't find it "totally unfair" (unlike the rest of their lives!!)

Mine are both at primary school, so we only have homework once a week, which we do first thing on a Saturday morning. We usually go to the park for an hour after school. The kids know that they can play together when we get home, and while I cook their dinner, and that after dinner they must have a bath, brush teeth, read a story and go to bed!

I do rely on frozen food, sometimes they are SO hungry they cannot wait to eat dinner. They love chicken nuggets, chips and beans, it's their favourite! My husband gets in at 6:30pm, and they can't wait that late to eat dinner, so I'll cook for us adults later on.

I have a routine of the kids being expected to hang up their own coats and bags. They play, read school book if going to a later club that day.

I do use more frozen foods for dinners than I imaged I would, because they're so convenient and more nutritious than they used to be.

We start bedtime routine early as it always takes longer than I anticipate.

Stick to a routine. Shoes and jackets off and put away once they get home and changed out of school uniforms straight away. Snack and a drink, then any homework to be done right after that. Once homework is done they can please themselves if they want to go out and play, watch TV or play in their room to let me get the evening meal prepared.

My evenings are complicated with the DC, due to responsibilities to elderly unwell parents and activities 3 evenings after school.
While I'm in the kitchen making dinner or packed lunches, the DC read to me from a chair near the kitchen, which gets their reading done. I'd rather sit on the sofa with them reading to me and it happens occasionally but mostly not.
I do a grocery shop on my phone app whilst watching them at karate and catch up on replying to messages.

Our evenings are straightforward. Playing, meal, bed. We all eat together, and I have a meal plan for the week. Once a week is fishfingers, courtesy of Cap'n Birdseye

We bike everywhere (school run/work) so that helps to not get stuck in traffic, be late or get stressed and we arrive home with a clearer head having had a bit of fresh air, exercise and leave 'work/school' behind by the time we get home. No-one sits down until all coats, pack ups, clothes are emptied and put away. Meals planned in advance as well as designated cook each day for that week - a frozen meal on late shift days, homemade on earlies. Free time before dinner but everyone gets showered 10mins before, after dinner all stuff to be done ready for school/work the next day, then abit of family time before bed.

After school snack and then they play/free time until teatime ...usually Lego, outside play, iPad, colouring. Tea time is planned meals which I cook whilst they play (I have a monthly meal plan) after tea we practice spellings and read, homework is done at the weekend.

I need to start meal planning and hope to start using the slow cooker more over the winter. Currently dinner time is a bit of a shambles with both of us working long hours but we usually end up eating something out the freezer so not ideal but quick and easy

My four all have set jobs to do; whether it is feeding the guinea pigs, laying the table or unloading the dishwasher, they know that they need to get these done. They are allowed to have some down time after school but these jobs must be done after that. We are try to fit the homework in too so that it is all not left to the weekend.
I do meal plan, as it saves time and stress. We all know what is for dinner and then no one can complain...... hopefully!

We spend a couple of hours at the weekend bulk cooking chilli con carne, shepherd's pie, chicken casserole etc and freezing into portions.

It's a lifesaver when time gets away from you and need a quick nutritional meal in a hurry.

The first thing they do is have a snack because they're always starving! then they'll do homework (they only get it on fridays atm) and read their reading books. Free time before tea. They'll have something out the freezer on swimming day because its at a very odd time of day

No technology after 6pm

We tend to rely on quick meals during the week - freezer meals, pasta, meals batch cooked at the weekend.
The DC don't get much homework yet, but there's no screen time until homework is done.

I cannot get any homework out of my kids until they have eaten, so they have an hours play or TV whilst I prepare tea, then homework, bath and a little free time before bed. I find Birds Eye fish fingers and battered chicken breasts a god send as the kids love them and they are so quick and easy to cook

Children have little jobs to do, and then we have a lighter dinner so that it is quick. If i have time, i try and batch cook at the weekend which makes things quicker still!

We try for consistency, cause then there are no rows about having to change out of uniform or do homework, its just what happens. But its not easy! I'm not super organised with meal plans or anything, but always try to figure it out by mid-afternoon so it doesn't creep up on me and we all get a good tasty tea.
I finished up my job in July. I used to get home about 7pm most nights when they were already in the jammies about to go to bed - the past few weeks is the first time i've met my kids every day from school and been there to make a snack/talk through how their day was and anything worrying them and help with homework, never mind the occasional wee craft project, blanket fort or bit of baking. It may not be glamorous, but these are precious times.

I meal plan a week in advance so there's no surprises of not having the right ingredients. The DC also know that they can't have the TV on until 5 and then they watch while I cook, otherwise I'd never get a minute to myself to actually prepare the meal.

Still finding a routine as my eldest has just started school. It normally involves getting home, watch some tv and then something straightforward such as birds eye chicken / alphabites and peas / beans. I find any meal that takes 30 minutes good and I don't meal plan as we can pick and choose what we want on the day. I'm sure once I return to work after Maternity leave I will need to get more structure in the evenings.

The first rule is all home work must be complete before any tea and then we sit down watch the cartoons before some game play which by then its bedtime - Phew

It's difficult to have a routine nowadays, because everyone is in at different times. DH works away quite a lot, DS1 is either away at uni or home full time during the holidays, DS2 is commuting from home to uni, so gets home at different times every day, depending on lectures, DS3 is at school and I'm at home full time.

I try to make food in batches, so meals can be taken out of the freezer and reheated in individual portions. I also rely on microwave meals a couple of nights per week, as it just makes life easier.

Delegating responsibility to dd now she's older is helpful and makes for a more relaxed evening. It's her homework, she knows when it's for, it's up to her to get it done. She knows what time meals are- etc.

We manage to all eat together, and I like to have everything ready before the pre-dinner rush with everyone getting in, getting washed etc. I have cut down my hours this year so have a bit more time to do that. Last year our menus did get monotonous as it was almost always a case of repeating the same old dishes over and again.

We do have a takeaway pizza once a week (Monday, as it makes the horror of Monday easier!) and on Saturday we always have nice Italian breads, cheeses and ham/salami etc rather than a proper dinner.

I find that slow cooker meals definitely help ease the after school routine. By the time we get back from various after school clubs, lessons, etc, it's much easier to dish up a prepared meal than start to work out what to cook.

DD is in year 1 so homework is reading or spellings, which DH or I do with her while the other prepares tea & clears up.

Tea is often sandwiches, as DD gets a hot school dinner. Veg sticks etc to go with, very rarely pudding. If we're having a sandwich week I try to do 1 nice hot meal such as sausage with wedges & 3 types of vegetables for a bit of variety, or a treat meal like homemade pizza or fish fingers. Sometimes I'll make a batch of something like bolognese sauce & we'll have that all week - spaghetti, as pizza topping, pasta bake, on baked potatoes. Another favourite is Easy Peasy Pasta (idea from Bing the annoying bunny) - which is just pasta boiled in with some vegetables, drained & mixed with some cream cheese which melts in the hot pan, & some grated cheese on top. We don't make DD eat everything on her plate, but there is no pudding if she's left any tea, & she has to try everything, every time. She knows that sometimes you have to practise trying new foods before you get to like them.

Regular bedtime Sunday - Thursday. She gets an extra half hour if she doesn't have school the next day. Any messing about & she risks losing her bedtime story (we rarely do it, the threat is enough!)