Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:20     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:We do dinner before. Depending on the day dinner might be in the car. I’m definitely not making dinner at 730 at night.
Today soccer was 630-8 and it’s a 25 min drive. I made her a chicken burger, raw veggies, and a couple cookies and she ate out of a bento box style container in the car. I had a chicken burger while driving.
She had a large ish snack when we got home but nothing that needs cooking.


My kids personally cannot eat something that heavy on their way to something intense like soccer practice, they would get cramps or puke.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 13:16     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Dinner at 5, leftovers for second dinner at 730.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 09:10     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
dinner after school. and then more dinner after practice or a snack.
Anonymous
Post 01/07/2026 07:42     Subject: Re:sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:Snack when she gets home, dinner after practice. That is what we did.


This. I can’t get dinner completely ready before 5.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 21:22     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:My kids at that age ate a "snack" after school that was equivalent to a meal. It was more like the food I put in their lunch box than the food I'd usually serve for dinner.

Then they ate something with simple carbs and protein -- chocolate milk, or a pb j the second they got in the car, and a real dinner after we got home.

So, something like:

4:15: Turkey and cheese sandwich, grapes, carrot stick with hummus

7:01 Chocolate milk

7:45: Spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, salad


If the snack is equivalent to a meal, why not call it a meal?


I don't know, it kind of evolved over time from a more normal sized snack. And it's still structured like a snack, meaning that the kids chose what they ate, and fixed it themselves, and cleaned up after. As opposed to dinner where whoever was cooking picked what was served and prepared it and everyone chose from the same selection, and then someone else did the dishes for everyone.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 21:19     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
We do dinner before. Depending on the day dinner might be in the car. I’m definitely not making dinner at 730 at night.
Today soccer was 630-8 and it’s a 25 min drive. I made her a chicken burger, raw veggies, and a couple cookies and she ate out of a bento box style container in the car. I had a chicken burger while driving.
She had a large ish snack when we got home but nothing that needs cooking.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 21:02     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:We do a small dinner before at 430 or 5 and then another dinner afterwards.


This. The early dinner is lighter and the late dinner is heavier. Maybe a peanut butter and banana smoothie before, and then a couple tacos after.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 20:58     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:She can't eat a full dinner at 5 and be running around at 6.

Healthy snack after school, dinner at 7:30.



This
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 20:50     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:My kids at that age ate a "snack" after school that was equivalent to a meal. It was more like the food I put in their lunch box than the food I'd usually serve for dinner.

Then they ate something with simple carbs and protein -- chocolate milk, or a pb j the second they got in the car, and a real dinner after we got home.

So, something like:

4:15: Turkey and cheese sandwich, grapes, carrot stick with hummus

7:01 Chocolate milk

7:45: Spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, salad


If the snack is equivalent to a meal, why not call it a meal?
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 19:00     Subject: Re:sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Snack when she gets home, dinner after practice. That is what we did.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 18:08     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
My kids at that age ate a "snack" after school that was equivalent to a meal. It was more like the food I put in their lunch box than the food I'd usually serve for dinner.

Then they ate something with simple carbs and protein -- chocolate milk, or a pb j the second they got in the car, and a real dinner after we got home.

So, something like:

4:15: Turkey and cheese sandwich, grapes, carrot stick with hummus

7:01 Chocolate milk

7:45: Spaghetti and meatballs, broccoli, salad
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 17:46     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
DC10 has sports at 5pm or 6pm, and usually eats dinner at 4pm ( he’s starving after school whether bring or eat school lunch). Plus some snacks afterwards around 8pm.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 15:47     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
We do before. Our school gets out much earlier though. Would be way too hungry for after.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 15:01     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Anonymous wrote:DD has two dinners. The one before is usually a small amount of leftovers from the night before, then she eats what I cook while she’s gone afterward.


This. Meal before sports then meal or snack before bed.
Anonymous
Post 01/06/2026 15:00     Subject: sports practice at 6pm - eat dinner before or after?!
Feed the beast