I do a snack immediately at pick up. I think being hungry makes them nuts (I also pick up at 5-5:30 so they are ready to eat when I get them. DW gets home before us and gets dinner together so we can all immediately eat and the 1 year old crashes. Our toddler usually plays with magnatiles or watches TV while we clean up/put baby down. We then put the 3 y/o down and finally have a moment to ourselves. We crash at 9. It's a hard, rushed night.

OP could your DH do pick up and you get dinner together? Even if they leave at 5:30, that might make the night a bit easier transition wise.

Can you do anything like Simon Says with jumps, etc? You don't need a big area. Just realized my 21 month old gets a huge kick out of mimicking whatever action I'm doing. She's a super energetic kid and we struggle with the same, though I imagine having two is another beast.

Other things that work for when its too hot outside. Pool- I have seen a mom who straps on her younger baby in a Moby wrap and brings two other children- not sure if your one year old would be too active for that already.

We keep an old couch in the basement with loose cushions. We build forts and let our daughter climb on it. She gets that she can't do that on the furniture upstairs.

We have a family membership to our local gym (which is a YMCA so maybe that makes the difference). When the group activity rooms and gymnasium aren't in use, we can go in there and kick around a ball, etc.

My daughter lately also likes pushing around her stuffed animals etc on a little 4 wheeled bike/cart. Its kind of a pain in the living room, but helps with getting the energy out when we can't go outside.

Water table too.

If I pick up my kids from daycare before 5pm, then I'll stop by a playground on the way home. If/when it is too cold or rainy or too hot, then we'll stop by a Chik-Fil-A and I'll let them play for a half an hour in the playroom before we head home. After 5pm, then we'll go home and have dinner first, but I sometimes will take them out to the above places after dinner to run off some steam then.

Being tired doesn't help. I often feel beat at the end of the day but I just try to find all the energy in me to get through that time. Often times, it does help to not go home. Dinners are not elaborate with that age group and i tried to not feel guilty about that. Some nights, hummus and carrots and pita did the trick. Also, remember that the more tired the kids are, the more insane they act. So call it a day early. By 630pm, they can be in bed and reading books.

Anonymous wrote:Where is daycare? Where do you live?

In the summer why not do an early dinner and the pool?

This. Today before I pick up DD from daycare I will have our dinner packed in a cooler and we'll hit the pool as soon as we get home (5:15ish). Life guard break at 5:45pm when we'll eat, then more pool time until 6:45pm (maybe later if she's napped at daycare). I also give her a snack in the car ride home from daycare (normally a granola bar). She's 3. Works fantastically for us. There was a dad there yesterday with his 1 year old and 2.5 year old. They were having a great time!

Where is daycare? Where do you live?

In the summer why not do an early dinner and the pool?

A play tent and collapsible tunnel
A sand box made from a plastic under-the-bed-box
A water table made from the same thing
Put on some music and have a little dance party

Bath! Put in a few inches of water and a ton of toys. Sit with them since they're still so young, but since it's not a lot of water, you can read a book or something and not keep your eyes on the constantly.

We have a gym mat that folds up. When the kids are being crazy, I put it out and put music on. They dance, jump on it like it is a trampoline, and jump off the sofa onto it (the older one-yours might be a little young for that part) and wrestle with each other or me or DH.

My kids are absolutely insane at that time of day too. I thought the witching hour only applied to babies, but it definitely keeps going!

Exercise videos or dance videos - Zumba in particular might be fun. Or maybe building a fort out of those cardboard blocks, setting him to work dusting baseboards (saw that tip on here somewhere), hiding stuff for him to find?

DS is a bit older, so I am not sure this will work. But I set up stations at the kitchen table (so I can cook while he is occupied). So he will play with kinetic sand, play dough, paint, coloring, etc. It doesn't really address the movement and activity, but since he is in daycare every day, he might be acting out because he is tired, so a calmer activity might help?

Otherwise, I just let me kid run crazy around the house lol. He is allowed to use his trike inside, which helps a lot when he needs some energy release.

Dance Party. DVDs. A water table if you have any outdoor space at all (we have one on our balcony).

I take it you don't have a yard?

Trampoline. You can bring out things you are mixing while he jumps around, so you will get more done....

I have a 1 and a 2 year old. Both are very very active. I pick them up at 430 each day and my husband gets home at 6. The two year old is totally insane during that time. Because I'm tired, we end up fighting all afternoon and it isn't how I want to spend the time. He needs movement and activity. We don't live by any parks that are enclosed, and at this point, both kids are so needy but going in separate directions, so I really need an enclosed park. Any ideas for what to do with them every day - keeping every one safe, but moving and getting out the energy? I live by some busy streets, and the one year old isn't really wanting to be confined in a stroller, so walks are a bit tough too.