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Find out how Mumsnet users wind down with their kids after school

860 replies

AbbiCMumsnet · 01/10/2019 09:36

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It’s September, and for most families that can mean only one thing – back to school. And with that comes the daily duty of whisking everyone out the door on time, helping them out with homework, and guiding your kids through playground politics. To say term time is jam-packed is an understatement – that’s why we’re so keen to hear how your wind down with your kids after the day’s hurly burly.

Here’s what IKEA have to say:
“We all know that every child is different. The same applies here: where one might like to sit and colour, another might want to play football in the garden. The secret is to make things easy for them, keeping all their favourite things organised and easy to find. That way they can happily while away the hours with minimal fuss.
Speaking of reading, a great way to nurture it is to give your child a dedicated space just for them and their books. Keep theirs on the lowest shelf, give them a comfy chair to settle into and they’ll be away.
Arts and crafts are a great way to relax too, and brilliant way to nurture your child’s creative side. Encourage their inner Picasso by keeping all of their supplies in easy to find containers right by their desk. Don’t forget to keep your carpet from turning into a masterpiece though – a plastic floor protector is a lifesaver here.”

So, what are your tips for winding down after school? Do you have certain activities you can bank on to keep things calm? Maybe there’s a toy or game you’ve got, ready to play with when they get home? Or maybe it’s a spot of drawing that does the trick?

Whatever you do, we’d love to know. Share your tips for how you relax and wind down with your children after school on the thread below and be in with a chance of winning a £300 IKEA voucher.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ
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Find out how Mumsnet users wind down with their kids after school
OP posts:
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11
KitMarlowesCodpiece · 15/10/2019 14:59

Has anyone read that horror novel set in a flat pack furniture shop? Apropos of nothing. It's called Horrorstör and the cover looks like an IKEA catalogue.

DanglyTasselsOfThigh · 15/10/2019 15:05

Maybe it's based on a true story Kit I once thought there was an earthquake whilst browsing in the upstairs of Ikea, it seemed to be sort of swaying!

Dss thought it was certainly an 'end of world' type scenario (well he's only 28 bless him) and we were planning how we would survive and wondering if we should bolt for the stairs but dh was having none of it and put it down to natural vibrations, so we just carried on looking a space saving storage whilst convinced the apocalypse was nigh and trading our preferred funeral songs.

xaphan77 · 15/10/2019 15:14

bit of football or cycling in the local park, then back for tea!

junebabyjen · 15/10/2019 15:31

Doing some yoga together!

ateallthecake · 15/10/2019 15:59

We listen to audio books on the way home and then have a snack and a chat before getting any homework done. Then dinner and snuggle up on the sofa for an hour before bath time and bed.

southernsun · 15/10/2019 16:06

Go for a walk or cuddle up on the sofa

oatmealcookie · 15/10/2019 16:16

We walk home which takes twenty odd minutes and we discuss what his school day was like and what he learned

YoTheGinPussyOfStMawesOnThigh · 15/10/2019 16:43

Schools out, here they come,
Arms outstretched, straight to Mum.
Tales of wonder, tales of woe,
Voices trilling, eyes aglow.
Gold star in spelling, how they boast,
But tea’s a calling, beans on toast.
Bath and bed, goodnight kiss,
For me, bottom’s up, I’m on the piss.
GinWineGinWineGinWine[gin

DanglyTasselsOfThigh · 15/10/2019 16:50

Omg Yo I'm filling up here!

jandoc · 15/10/2019 17:08

I try and get them to do something calming like colouring

ThighThighOfthigh · 15/10/2019 17:11

We scream with joyous terror as i serve up a vegan food item whilst cuddling and pissing.

KitMarlowesCodpiece · 15/10/2019 17:31

Might as well close the thread after @YoTheGinPussyOfStMawesOnThigh's poem. It's so beautiful. If she doesn't win, there's no justice in the world.

Mitsouko67 · 15/10/2019 18:22

I don't. I'm at work. I see them when I get home. Pm a mixture of dad supervising some days or they are home alone.

That's how it is in our house.

bobistheboss · 15/10/2019 18:40

In the summer we go to the outdoor paddling pool or the beach and in the winter its the park and a book by the fire

sofieellis · 15/10/2019 20:14

I always took the kids to the park for a play on the way home from school when they were little. Then home for tea, homework and games, before bath and bed. We always snuggled up together for a bed-time story.

Dapootz · 15/10/2019 20:37

We have a stroll in the park with the dogs

lolamia91 · 15/10/2019 20:44

Making dinner together and a movie

annarack99 · 15/10/2019 20:52

Snack, and play in the garden

juicylucywb · 15/10/2019 21:07

We are lucky enough to live by the beach so we quite often pop down there for an hour or so, especially in the summer. In the winter we like to have a hot chocolate and a snack.

Shesawinner1989 · 15/10/2019 21:24

Not very much apart from eating, chatting and relaxing on the sofa.

nakedscientistOfThigh · 15/10/2019 22:22

The hectic rush through the rain,
Spag Bol and bread yet again
Stick on the bake off
Snore as they kick off
Then bed lest they drive you insane.

nakedscientistOfThigh · 15/10/2019 22:26

Who keeps taking my socks?
You gave them to me from the box.
Get on with your work.
You're such a jerk,
I'm off to my mates round the block

nakedscientistOfThigh · 15/10/2019 22:30

Whiling away all my days
In a foggy irascible haze
Give all my love
Is it ever enough?
To capture a teenagers praise.

nakedscientistOfThigh · 15/10/2019 22:45

Snack and play in the garden
The veins in my temple do harden
There must be some joy
That's not just a ploy
To win a duvet called kratten.

DanglyTasselsOfThigh · 15/10/2019 22:53

Oh Naked our hero! You are a clear winner now! Can you please get us a cuntz POÄNG bouncy chair?