Wind Down With Us: Evening Hacks
Before having kids, your evening routine may have looked like this:
5:00 pm: Get home from work
5:30 pm: Lay on the couch scrolling on phone
6:30 pm: Start making dinner
7:00 pm: Eat dinner while watching TV show
7:30 pm: Draw a relaxation bath
8:30 pm: Lay in bed with a facemask on
9:00 pm: Read in bed until you fall asleep
When your life flashes before your eyes and suddenly you have three children, your evening looks more like this:
5:30 pm: Get home from work after picking up kids at daycare
5:30 pm: Get toys out for kids while trying to figure out what to make for dinner
5:30 pm: Console crying child while looking for their missing toy
6:00 pm: Rush to make dinner so that the kids go to bed on time
6:30 pm: Feed children while trying to clean up the kitchen
7:00 pm: Bathtime
7:30 pm: Wrestle kids into pyjamas while trying to read them a story
8:00 pm: Kids bedtime… finally
8:30 pm: Finish cleaning up the kids' mess while they sleep (must be nice!)
9:00 pm: Rummage through the kitchen for something quick to eat for dinner
9:30 pm: Pack kids’ lunches for tomorrow
10:00 pm: Head to bed while running through your mental checklist of everything on the go for tomorrow
As you can see, a lot can change within a few years. Asking for help isn’t the end of the world, online people call evenings “a parent’s witching hour” and “evening rush hour.” It really is a time that can be as or even more stressful than the morning, when overworked parents are trying to cram in those last things that need to be done.
Evenings can often feel totally packed, and that’s why the blogger who came up with the below routine recommendations with the goal of “trying to keep things minimal in the evening, avoid getting directly into tasks at home after work as this often makes you feel frustrated and more tired.”
5 strategies for optimizing those evening hours:
Have dinner planned ahead and pre-made as much as possible
Maintain a regular bedtime schedule
Catch up with kids over dinner
Set a 10-minute timer and see how much you can tidy the house in that time
Have an evening routine of your own and get enough sleep for a productive day tomorrow
Here are a few other examples of evening family schedules for busy working parents so you can see what options might work best for you.