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

[AbbiCMumsnet]

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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
Standard Insight T&Cs apply

Walking home with a snack to eat and chatting about their day before getting home and out of uniforms into normal clothes and a bit of TV before dinner and homework

I be wanting a shark. Just saying

Ikea didn't think this through. Imagine how many more comments they'd have got if they'd sacked off the voucher and just offered sharks for all? They could give away 25 sharks and spread the joy for the same cost.

My son doesn't get home from school while nearly 5 o clock so we make tea and whilst it's cooking he changes into comfy clothes, then we eat and afterwards snuggle on the sofa with a book or reading eggs app. If we don't do that we tend to play a game or build lego.

We just keep it easy and chilled out without too much pressure to do things.

Make a snack and drink for her then we sit on the sofa together and do some colouring using a colouring app on the iPad, this helps her with numbers as well.

chewing the fat over tea

Walking though leaves, picking up conkers,
Fireworks and bomb-fires to come.
air smells different, damp and mushroomy.
Coats and cardigans, blankets and hats,
morning sunshine and evening chill.

Smell of baked bread, Apple cake, hot soup,

Shoes off , coat off, bag dumped.
No questions, just hugs, hot chocolate.
Slippers. Talk to pets, feed and fuss ,
Sing along music, price tag, rocketman.

Evening darkness, put the lights on
Plates out, cheese done , tomato sauce
Baked potatoes melting butter and crispy skin
Kids down, noisy chatter. Gone
Sudden quiet in the air, time now for some wine.

My sofa is called EKTORP
EKTORP is its name
Now if my sofa's EKTORP
Then EKTORP is its game.

There was a grand shop called IKEA
That sold some really smart gear
But the packs were quite flat
And how to put that with that
No-one had got an idea

Well Naked these are quite stunning entries! Well worth delaying a poo for!

You work better under pressure!

Naked gob hangs open with admiration, what lovely verse. Makes me feel all warm inside and out, notices she is leaving pissy trail on the floor. Snaps gob shut hastily as realises looks gormless as well.

Having thankfully never had children, it's just DH and I and our two ickle fur-babies, but I'm sure you wouldn't like to discriminate against me for that reason?

To relax and unwind after a hard day at work, we like to sit in front of a roaring fire and cozy up together, him in his gimp suit and me in my most classy leather dominatrix outfit. We role-play sweet little scenes, mostly where he's being a very naughty boy and I have to firmly chastise him with the most darling flogger and pull on his favourite nipple clamps, whilst he bites down on his ball-gag. It's simple harmless fun, but it also keeps the neighbours across the road entertained if we leave the curtains open for them.

Can't wait to get that £300 voucher, it's bound to me that wins it with my charming little anecdote, so hard luck all you other suckers

@nakedscientistOfThigh I don't know who you are, sweetie, but you've made me sob tears of pure and utter joy with your beautiful thoetry. I still deserve to win though

@WombleishOfThigh Your poem is beautiful. You should probably specify that you spank him with an Ikea fish slice, though. The Vardagen turner looks suitably... springy

A Free Verse Thoem

It is called Kallax
It is very good
It is a useful piece
Buy it

I'm can feel myself developing type 2 diabetes reading this thread.

Ah, but, Kit, I didn't want to be too obvious.

@WombleishOfThigh It is very sweet, but I suspect more along the aspartame lines than actual sugar...

Have we explored the haiku yet?

We get home from school
The children hug, laugh and play
On our KLIPPAN couch

Cuddles on the sofa

Dass is of the nihilist school of poetry. Stark.

My son likes to have a snack and do his homework so that he knows he's not going to be hassled about it for the rest of the evening.

Thigh That did make me laugh out loud. If only it was spaced like an ee cummings poem:

Cuddles

     onthe

so fa

How do you wind down with the kids after school?

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