Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haa wait two years until they aren’t getting home until 10:45 and are starving. If you are driving home from practice, eat in car. Sometimes we let him skip shower if he didn’t get too sweaty. It’s hard.

Yep. My teen just walked in at 10:45pn from soccer practice and started making a protein shake. In the shower now at 11:15pm

When does he do homework?

If he’s like my high schooler, he does homework sometime between the end of school at 3:15 and the start of late practice at 8:00. He doesn’t get finished late because it’s a 6 hour practice, it’s because rink space is limited and they have a late time slot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Haa wait two years until they aren’t getting home until 10:45 and are starving. If you are driving home from practice, eat in car. Sometimes we let him skip shower if he didn’t get too sweaty. It’s hard.

Yep. My teen just walked in at 10:45pn from soccer practice and started making a protein shake. In the shower now at 11:15pm

When does he do homework?

Anonymous wrote:Haa wait two years until they aren’t getting home until 10:45 and are starving. If you are driving home from practice, eat in car. Sometimes we let him skip shower if he didn’t get too sweaty. It’s hard.

Yep. My teen just walked in at 10:45pn from soccer practice and started making a protein shake. In the shower now at 11:15pm

My DD has dinner before practice as well. For a practice that starts at 7, she is done with dinner at 6 to digest most of it before practice. After practice she may have fruit(s) in the car on our way home. I also find the melatonin idea weird. Let the natural cycle work out and learn how to handle the change during practice nights. It's part of life and the kids should learn how to deal with it. You don't want a kid who - later on - cannot get to bed without his melatonin dose.

Anonymous wrote:Drop the activity. He's nine. He should not be participating. This is causing the family stress, and would cause any ordinary nine year old, and any ordinary family stress. If high school, that's different.

This doesn't make sense, because it is common. You do not belong on this site. You will never be able to change the infected.

Drop the activity. He's nine. He should not be participating. This is causing the family stress, and would cause any ordinary nine year old, and any ordinary family stress. If high school, that's different.

I also vote for dinner on the way home, but I would give him an actual meal- hearty wraps, burritos, onigiri, ggimbap, empanada, Cornish pasty, etc. Shakes and smoothies are great, but they shouldn’t be meal replacements for kids.

Also agree with shortening the shower. Establish a routine- dinner on the way home, when you get home, walk through the door, turn on his shower to warm up while he takes off his shoes etc. Time his shower to be no more than 8-10 minutes. Five min to get into pajamas and brush teeth. Then he gets 15-20 min to hang out before bedtime. Reading aloud to him can help him wind down during this time. It’s more work for you (isn’t it always?), but staying with him until bedtime will help solidify the routine.

We eat at 4, and my kid has a snack on the way home from practice. She doesn't always shower after practice- with her hair, showering ends up taking forever.
I don't push her at all. Not even one iota after practice. It will take her as long as it takes her, and she knows she needs to get to bed. If I give any hint that I want her to move faster, it gets exponentially worse.
It took some time, but she's used to it at this point, and the whole family prefers 4PM dinner

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying Melatonin on late practice nights, as soon as they walk in the door so it kicks in while they’re showering. It seems like it might be helping them to wind down?

Sick

It's 1mg of kids' melatonin, suggested by our pediatrician.

Next?

Find a new pediatrician.

Anonymous wrote:Okay so the meltdown is because he’s tired, which you know, but at age 9 he should be able to brainstorm with you ways to do it faster WITHOUT the meltdown.

What if you bring a hearty smoothie for the drive home, instead of food to eat.

What if you got a shower speaker and picked an amount of time that’s acceptable for both of you and found songs that fit that time, so he knows when the 3 songs are over, he has to get out.

Teach him breathing techniques so when he’s unhappy about something he breathes first instead of melting down.

OP here and thank you for the helpful response! He does eat dinner before practice but its a small snack dinner and i dont blame him for needing more after practice. Its the long whiny drawn out way he handles it that is the concern.

I love the shower speaker idea. Will give that a try!

Also not opposed to melatonin with dinner to help with the wind down.

Anonymous wrote:You don’t handle it. You accept that you’ve chosen to prioritize sports over sleep and routine and just deal with it. Don’t give him melatonin ffs.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying Melatonin on late practice nights, as soon as they walk in the door so it kicks in while they’re showering. It seems like it might be helping them to wind down?

Sick

It's 1mg of kids' melatonin, suggested by our pediatrician.

Next?

We're experiencing this once a week for summer league with our 9 year old, but I will only allow it in summer. During the school year it just wouldn't work. Kid naturally wakes up early.

We eat dinner before, FWIW. Then you only need a snack after.