Working parents, what do you do with kids on weekday evenings?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have two toddlers so realize it’s a bit different but kids get home from daycare around 6pm. We get dinner on the table by 6:15 or so - I’d love to improve the quality of the meals and frequency with which we eat as a family (vs just feeding kids) but this is what works for now. Typical meals are rotisserie chicken and frozen veggies, grilled cheese, leftover soup or pasta with frozen veggies, frozen fish — you get the idea. Not the best but being transparent! DH and I may eat with kids or eat after they go to bed.

After dinner, kids spend 10-20 minutes playing and bedtime routine is started by 7:15pm / asleep by 7:45 or so. (We don’t do baths every night.)

It changes when they are no longer toddlers and go to bed later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No one is home till 6:30pm at the earliest on weekday. Both children are at daycare or ES aftercare. One take computer and one take tablet when I prepare dinner. After dinner, it is either 7:30pm or 8pm. They go back to use computer or tablet while I take a break on sofa. If I have a little bit energy, I read a book to them or we watch interesting news together. I bring all kids upstair at 8:45pm to do shower and kids are at bed between 9pm to 9:30pm.

I think we should do something together. I hope for at least 15-20 min educational for each kid, but I don't have energy and exhausted. Anything that takes minimal effort or energy or not make kids super hyper that we could do. DH is out of questions because he sometimes work or have a small drink to relax. His workload is more stressful.

Pp here. Teach them some card games. Lots of math to be had playing those. Dh can have a drink while holding some cards too. I would leave the pre dinner screens and replace with something post dinner. Even a some lego or puzzle would be better. Less screen close to bedtime would lead to better sleep too.

[Anonymous]

I cannot believe how many people in this thread are living these fantasy lives. Pre-pandemic when people were not WFH, this is exactly the schedule my husband and I had. It's also the schedule I know most families with dual working parents had. Now its like everyone is making 7 figures and works 10 - 3 and can do 3:15 school pickup.

[Anonymous]

I don’t work now but when I used to work, I had a nanny who also did meal prep. She made us or at least the kids dinner. DH or I would be home by 5.

[Anonymous]

My DH and I both WFH. I work 7:30-3:30, he works 8:30-4:30. He does morning drop offs from 7:30-8am and then I do pick ups from 3:30-4pm and we are all home and on to family time by 4:30pm. I do quick dinners during the week. Some ideas:

-rotisserie chicken on a big chopped salad w boiled eggs, ditalini pasta, corn, tomatoes, cucumber
-ravioli with mushrooms and asparagus
-hash- sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper, kielbasa sausage, fried egg on top
-I use the crockpot a ton for soups, stews, beef stroganoff, chicken taco meat, pulled pork, pot roast, chili.
-I often make extra portions and freeze so I can just defrost meals

We usually finish dinner by 5:30pm and either go to the park, play in the yard, water/pick the garden, walk the dog, ride bikes, or if the weather is bad we mostly play pretend- doll house, restaurant, camping, trains, etc. Baths at 6:30p and bedtime starts at 7p, asleep by 7:30pm.

[Anonymous]

Eh OP I think you’re doing fine. We have three kids — 4,6,9 — and have some form of your schedule. While the kids are home at 4:15 off the bus — we then launch into activity/sports central. Eat at 7:30-8, kids aren’t in bed until 9. Screen time interspersed through this. We do not have time for game night or family activities during the week and everyone seems to still be thriving. It’s just a busy season.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH and I both WFH. I work 7:30-3:30, he works 8:30-4:30. He does morning drop offs from 7:30-8am and then I do pick ups from 3:30-4pm and we are all home and on to family time by 4:30pm. I do quick dinners during the week. Some ideas:

-rotisserie chicken on a big chopped salad w boiled eggs, ditalini pasta, corn, tomatoes, cucumber
-ravioli with mushrooms and asparagus
-hash- sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper, kielbasa sausage, fried egg on top
-I use the crockpot a ton for soups, stews, beef stroganoff, chicken taco meat, pulled pork, pot roast, chili.
-I often make extra portions and freeze so I can just defrost meals

We usually finish dinner by 5:30pm and either go to the park, play in the yard, water/pick the garden, walk the dog, ride bikes, or if the weather is bad we mostly play pretend- doll house, restaurant, camping, trains, etc. Baths at 6:30p and bedtime starts at 7p, asleep by 7:30pm.

Both you and your husband live less than 30 min from work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH and I both WFH. I work 7:30-3:30, he works 8:30-4:30. He does morning drop offs from 7:30-8am and then I do pick ups from 3:30-4pm and we are all home and on to family time by 4:30pm. I do quick dinners during the week. Some ideas:

-rotisserie chicken on a big chopped salad w boiled eggs, ditalini pasta, corn, tomatoes, cucumber
-ravioli with mushrooms and asparagus
-hash- sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper, kielbasa sausage, fried egg on top
-I use the crockpot a ton for soups, stews, beef stroganoff, chicken taco meat, pulled pork, pot roast, chili.
-I often make extra portions and freeze so I can just defrost meals

We usually finish dinner by 5:30pm and either go to the park, play in the yard, water/pick the garden, walk the dog, ride bikes, or if the weather is bad we mostly play pretend- doll house, restaurant, camping, trains, etc. Baths at 6:30p and bedtime starts at 7p, asleep by 7:30pm.

Both you and your husband live less than 30 min from work?

Oh whoops! Missed the first line. WFH has really changed things hasn't it?

[Anonymous]

I have a 3, 6 and 8 year old. My schedule looks like this:

6:30am - parents wake up and get ready, get coffee and make lunches
7:00am - DH is gone for work (drives into the city)
7:30am - I (DW) make sure that the kids are awake and breakfast is ready. Get kids dressed for school, hair brushed, etc
8:20am - off to the bus for the older two and then daycare for the youngest
9:00am - back home to work for the day
3:45pm - walk to get the older two from the bus
4:00pm-5:00pm - older two have a snack, decompress, do homework (if there is no school homework I still make them do worksheets/SplashLearn on their computer, read to me) while I make dinner for everyone
5:15pm - go get youngest from daycare

If there are no sporting events then we come home by 5:45pm and have dinner (kids like to play on playground at daycare before we come home). After dinner we all take the dog out for a walk. Older two kids usually bike and I walk with the dog and youngest child. Come home for a little bit of TV before going upstairs at 7:15pm for bath, pjs, get ready for bed. DH is usually still at work at this point so I do all 3 bedtimes by myself, so it can take anywhere between 45 min-1 hour depending on how compliant kids are. All kids are in bed and asleep no later than 8:30/8:45pm.

On days when we have sports the older two kids eat before we get the youngest from daycare, I pack youngest kids dinner in a thermos and then we are at sports until around 7pm. Then immediately home for bath and bed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH and I both WFH. I work 7:30-3:30, he works 8:30-4:30. He does morning drop offs from 7:30-8am and then I do pick ups from 3:30-4pm and we are all home and on to family time by 4:30pm. I do quick dinners during the week. Some ideas:

-rotisserie chicken on a big chopped salad w boiled eggs, ditalini pasta, corn, tomatoes, cucumber
-ravioli with mushrooms and asparagus
-hash- sweet potatoes, onion, bell pepper, kielbasa sausage, fried egg on top
-I use the crockpot a ton for soups, stews, beef stroganoff, chicken taco meat, pulled pork, pot roast, chili.
-I often make extra portions and freeze so I can just defrost meals

We usually finish dinner by 5:30pm and either go to the park, play in the yard, water/pick the garden, walk the dog, ride bikes, or if the weather is bad we mostly play pretend- doll house, restaurant, camping, trains, etc. Baths at 6:30p and bedtime starts at 7p, asleep by 7:30pm.

Both you and your husband live less than 30 min from work?

Different poster, but even on days when DH and I both go into our respective offices, it takes less than a half hour for each of us to commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe how many people in this thread are living these fantasy lives. Pre-pandemic when people were not WFH, this is exactly the schedule my husband and I had. It's also the schedule I know most families with dual working parents had. Now its like everyone is making 7 figures and works 10 - 3 and can do 3:15 school pickup.

Even before Covid I didn’t know a soul who left their kid at daycare/aftercare until 6pm. Parents shifted schedules so one dropped off and one picked up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe how many people in this thread are living these fantasy lives. Pre-pandemic when people were not WFH, this is exactly the schedule my husband and I had. It's also the schedule I know most families with dual working parents had. Now its like everyone is making 7 figures and works 10 - 3 and can do 3:15 school pickup.

Yes, prior to WFH, I cooked dinner (preferably enough to last 2 days) at night after bedtime, DH picked our child up from aftercare at 545/550, and we reheated the pre-cooked dinner. If I got home by 645 we ate together; otherwise I ate separately later. Now that I WFH frequently, I am more likely to cook same-day and just do more work after dinner/bedtime to offset the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe how many people in this thread are living these fantasy lives. Pre-pandemic when people were not WFH, this is exactly the schedule my husband and I had. It's also the schedule I know most families with dual working parents had. Now its like everyone is making 7 figures and works 10 - 3 and can do 3:15 school pickup.

Even before Covid I didn’t know a soul who left their kid at daycare/aftercare until 6pm. Parents shifted schedules so one dropped off and one picked up.

Then you clearly weren't at my daycare/aftercare program. For those that live near/outside the Beltway with jobs in DC it was not unusual.

[Anonymous]

I agree that the problem is mostly your schedule. Try to have a parent home by 530. Also stop screens after dinner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe how many people in this thread are living these fantasy lives. Pre-pandemic when people were not WFH, this is exactly the schedule my husband and I had. It's also the schedule I know most families with dual working parents had. Now its like everyone is making 7 figures and works 10 - 3 and can do 3:15 school pickup.

Even before Covid I didn’t know a soul who left their kid at daycare/aftercare until 6pm. Parents shifted schedules so one dropped off and one picked up.

Then you clearly weren't at my daycare/aftercare program. For those that live near/outside the Beltway with jobs in DC it was not unusual.

That's pretty sad. I guess that's a silver lining of Covid then. I wouldn't live somewhere where both parents had a commute like that, certainly not in this day.