What is your routine with your kids (particularly time of your evening meal) ???

Mics_chick

RoxieW wrote: »

Hi - I have 2 the same age as yours. Our after school routine is usually - homework, the tv/play time until daddy gets home (about 5.30pm) - then we all eat dinner together. Then its abit of play/tv and twice weekly bath, before warm milk and story at 7pm then sleep. On weekends/holidays they are allowed to watch a dvd in their room before sleep. If we have a party/visitors etc then the routine just gets adapted - usually story and milk are given a miss if late night.

WOW!!! It's good to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't bath them every night

Tigerlilley1980

Hi there, I have a 14 month old and stick to her routine religiously as I would probably go insane otherwise! We have breakfast at 8, Lunch at 12 and Tea at 4. She goes in the bath at half 5 and then bed at 6.30. If we have a party or something to go to I do relax the routine and it does work. If you can find a way to stick to a routine that works it really does help. If you can get the younger child in bed firs then you will have time for the older one. Obviously my DD is a bit younger but I am sure a routine that can be stuck to will definitely help.

Jo_R_2

I wouldn't say we have a 'routine' but we do have things that happen the same every day, more for my sanity than anything else!

Pick DD1 up from school at 3.15 with DD2 in tow. Home then empty book bag, check for letters and deal with anything then for the next day or week (eg snack money, returning forms, reading, home work.) This usually done with snack and drink for both (and me!)

Both DDs play for a while, when I'll make the packed lunches for next day, and this is usually where if I've been doing baking and whatnot, I'll finish off from the daytime, icing bun cakes and stuff, so DD1 can help and we have a bit of quality time.

They'll either play or watch a programme or two whilst I cook dinner, which is timed to be ready for when OH gets in about 5.30ish. We all eat together.

Then about 6pm it's either The Simpsons or bathtime (depends how dirty they are and how tired I am!) Pyjamas go on and I take DD2 up to bed where I read her favourite books to her and put her to bed by 7pm, whilst OH sits downstairs with DD1 and they'll either do reading, homework or quiet play. I used to put them to bed together (they share a room and it used to be just me at bedtime til OH moved in) but we realised DD1 was being disturbed as DD2 likes to chatter as she falls asleep - although she does go to sleep quickly - and that DD2 needs more sleep. DD1 will come up either when she's done with homework or reading or when she's tired and snuggle into bed, always by 7.30pm. I'll sit with her for a little while as she starts to drift off then say goodnights.

chivers1977

My son is 3.5 and I seem to do everything differently again. He is at nursery and I am at work so he is:

6.15 up
7.30 out of the house with no breakfast - eats at school
5.30 -6 home from nursery
6.45 daddy gets home
7pm eat with daddy and me
7.30 watch batman with daddy
8 bed

There is no way clearly that we could eat at 5.30 and nursery stuff him all day anyway - 3 meals and 2 snacks!

mspig

Can't say we have a routine as such but eldest(12) has his alarm set for 7am and he gets himself sorted, and leaves the house at 8am.
Two younger ones are up somewhere between 7-8am then they get dressed, breakfast, teeth, wash, coat, shoes and leave for school at 8.45.

Collect 5 year old from school at 3.10 then its home shoes, coats off and they can watch tv until tea is ready which is usually around 5.30ish eldest arrives home from school at 5pm as he does afterschool activites everynight, hubby arrives home around 5.30-6pm. Its then tea and they can do what they want until 8pm bedtime(on certain days there is homework and baths after tea)

bestpud

Mics_chick wrote: »

WOW!!! It's good to know that I'm not the only one who doesn't bath them every night

We don't either - haven't with any of our children.

izoomzoom

Mics_chick wrote: »

Never been able to keep to a routine for anything (work, housework, etc ) but I do want to get into some sort of routine for the kids' sake - we never seem to have time to do my 5.5yo dd's homework with her :rolleyes2
I have a ds too, who is nearly 4.

What is your routine and how rigidly do you stick to it?
What do you do if you have an unexpected event - be it a party or shopping trip ???

I am not gonna tell you about our routine, but did want to query about homework situation. At 5.5y surely there shouldn't be more than 5 minutes homework ? And what is the homework.

When DS1 was in year 2 I recall his teacher telling me that it was not my job to teach him to read, it was hers ... reading at home was suppose to be fun and completely stress free.

This made a huge difference to our homework routine as it was hell beforehand.

redmel1621

I have a kind of flexi routine.
Weekday...
Up at 7pm, dressed, fed, and out the house by 8.30 - They usually end up with half hour of playing before we leave the house.
3xdays a week they go to after school club as I am in work till 6pm so by the time we have walked home it is about 6.30 - We eat pretty much straight away as I have 99% of the time pre-prepared dinner (slow cooker etc)
2xdays a week they have a snack as soon as we get in, and then dinner is always on the table for 6pm.
Youngest 6yrs goes to bed at 7.45, oldest 8yr goes to bed at 8.15.(they get an extra 15 min allowance at each birthday!!)

I don't do homework on school nights, as 3 nights a week we only have 1hr 15mins to get coats, shoes and school bags and pack lunch bags put away, eat dinner, wash and brush teeth, get pyjamas on.........

Mel x

Mics_chick

izoomzoom wrote: »

I am not gonna tell you about our routine, but did want to query about homework situation. At 5.5y surely there shouldn't be more than 5 minutes homework ? And what is the homework.

Sometimes it does only take a few minutes coz it lends itself to that but other times it has to be done all at once and seems to take ages and is quite involved & advanced for my dd's age

Milford_Cubicle

When my DD was small, we had a rigid routine. Now she's older (7.5), I'm a bit more relaxed as I'm trying to encourage her to be independent. Her alarm is set for 0800, although i'm usually up at 0745 with our puppy. She gets herself dressed and some breakfast, then we leave for school around 0845. I pick her up at 1510 and when we get home, I ask her to get changed unless it's bath night (no fixed day). She might play on the PS3 for a while, or do something in her room for an hour. Myself or my OH tends to make food for eating sometime between 1630 and 1800, depending on how hungry we all are and what the food is. She reads a chapter of her book to me at some point in the evening (usually around 1700-1800). OH and I tend to take a shower every evening around 1900, she'll go on the PC for a bit and play one of her 'horse' games. Then she goes to bed at 2000. (2100 on a non-school night).

The only things which are rigid are mornings and the time she goes to bed. I find running the day loosely based around some type of routine allows for a much more relaxed family as we're not running to a schedule with x y and z needing to be done by a specific time or the world will end