I agree about getting everything done by 4:00. That's kind of how I did things too. However, now that I have a teenager, the biggest obstacle I have is her after school schedule! I have to pick her up from practice at 6:30, smack dab in the middle of when we eat. I still insist on eating together as a family, so we usually have a late dinner and everyone is grumpy! I'm not sure how to handle teenage schedules. Maybe this is something to address in a future column?
I am having this same struggle with my oldest being 15 and involved in all kinds of new activities. We homeschool but she takes classes 2 days a week at a Chesterton Academy now and all of the school activities are as you say. I haven't figured out how to manage dinners yet. Either we eat on the go, or we eat late and, yes, everyone is grumpy and tired!
I do like to give everyone, but especially the younger children, a snack when my 3 year old wakes up from her nap between 3 and 4. My oldest was playing volleyball with the school team through the beginning of November and that was really difficult for dinners. Now that it is done, most of our evenings are at home once again, thankfully. I just really dislike the disruption in our normal routine! I will go read your post again because I don't think it is going to get easier as they all get older and start having outside activities... I honestly don't know how a family with children in school could manage to eat together on weeknights unless the children had zero extra-curricular activities! Or maybe I am (most definitely) deficient in some kind of time management gene...
I agree about getting everything done by 4:00. That's kind of how I did things too. However, now that I have a teenager, the biggest obstacle I have is her after school schedule! I have to pick her up from practice at 6:30, smack dab in the middle of when we eat. I still insist on eating together as a family, so we usually have a late dinner and everyone is grumpy! I'm not sure how to handle teenage schedules. Maybe this is something to address in a future column?
I am having this same struggle with my oldest being 15 and involved in all kinds of new activities. We homeschool but she takes classes 2 days a week at a Chesterton Academy now and all of the school activities are as you say. I haven't figured out how to manage dinners yet. Either we eat on the go, or we eat late and, yes, everyone is grumpy and tired!
She's a little too young to let go of... she needs to eat with the family!
Sometimes feed littles early maybe?
I do like to give everyone, but especially the younger children, a snack when my 3 year old wakes up from her nap between 3 and 4. My oldest was playing volleyball with the school team through the beginning of November and that was really difficult for dinners. Now that it is done, most of our evenings are at home once again, thankfully. I just really dislike the disruption in our normal routine! I will go read your post again because I don't think it is going to get easier as they all get older and start having outside activities... I honestly don't know how a family with children in school could manage to eat together on weeknights unless the children had zero extra-curricular activities! Or maybe I am (most definitely) deficient in some kind of time management gene...
There's only so much time.
We have to have priorities. Some activities are fine, but dinner together has to happen as much as possible in the teen years.
It's not easy!
I have a post about this: https://likemotherlikedaughter.org/2014/06/pretty-happy-funny-real-eating-dinner-together-when-the-kids-get-older/
I'll read it now that I've popped my casserole in the oven. Thank you! :)
“Recover from” is such a helpful way of framing it.