Early dinner time with kids, as early as 3:45 pm?

[tvguy]

How early, is too early for dinner if you have kids? Interesting article. My work schedule was such that I was off of work before my kids were out of school, so that wasn't an issue for me. What always was tough was after school sports. It was a mad dash from school with practice often starting 30 minutes after school let out. Kids changing clothes in the car, eating a granola bar. Soccer was usually over by 7 pm, but Little League in May could go as late as 8:30 pm, and only then could we get home to start fixing dinner, do homework, get showers. That explains the lines at the neighborhood Burger King, McDonalds, Jack In The Box and Taco Bell with cars full of kids in sports uniforms.
What do you think, could you pull this off in your household? Could you do it? Not sure how folks working a normal 830 am to 5 job could do it, even those working 730 am to 4 pm would have a tough time. This has been a topic on the Cruise Line forum, because on Disney ships early sitting dinner is very popular and often fills up, forcing some to have dinner at 8:30 pm.

https://www.today.com/parents/families-eat-dinner-after-school-rcna168213

 

[Magical2017]

When the kids were in sports they had a snack after school and then we ate after practice. We did a lot of meal planning for practice days. We'd have crock pot meals or we alternated who cooked and who took the kids to practice. There were some fast food nights, but we mostly cooked dinner and ate together after the practices. I know some single parents who did meal prep on the weekends and froze things to use during practice nights during the week.

 

[DodgerGirl]

When I was a kid when I would get home from school I would have an after-school snack and then when my father and uncle would return from work my mom would prepare dinner at 5PM then we'd eat dinner at 7PM. But then as I got older I attended swimming lessons and we would always get McDonald's Burger King or picked up a pizza and then we'd eat at home. But i'm noticing more families having early dinners because the parents had late night jobs or came home from long jobs and they didn't have the energy to cook a big meal and so fast food places became popular as did restaurants when people began to phone in take-out orders. But if you had a long job such as working as a nurse or doctor at the local hospital or a police officer those were the types of people that had those early dinners. But if you worked at an office job you could get home early relax and then start dinner later. But as kids got busy with after-school activities sports practice and homework take-out became even popular and that's why you see lines at Jack In The Box McDonald's Pizza Hut and Wendy's because that's what the kids like to eat the most for dinner. But I do wish more families could have a early dinnertime on the weekends because that's the times when the kids have no school and the family can eat together

 

[Minnesota!]

I meal prepped and had it ready to go as we walked out the door. Usually things like wraps and chips and carrots. Or sandwiches and fruit and veg. They would eat on the way and then afterwards, I always had some protein available - hard boiled eggs, nuts, lunchmeat wrapped around cheese, etc.

I worked 8 - 445 when my kids were that age, and so I didn't have a choice. Dinner that late isn't healthy, and neither is fast food each night. So, I took the time to prep and avoided the crap food and the rushing.

Not to say that some nights we didn't find ourselves at Chili's at 9pm, but I fast food was never an option, and eating out was never the default.

I work much earlier hours now, so if my kids were back into this groove, I would have them eat dinner at an earlier time vs on the road.

 

[leebee]

DD had dance every afternoon, not getting home until about 8pm. She had a balanced protein/carb "snack" during rehearsal breaks (turkey wraps, cheese and crackers, bagel with cheese, etc) supplemented with nuts, cheese, meal bars/shakes, etc. Dinner was always on the table when she and DH walked in the door at 8:15. Sounds late, but we'd all be up until about midnight or later (homework for DD, etc) so it's not like we were eating and going to bed.

 

[PollyannaMom]

DS wasn't into a lot of sports, and I was substitute teaching then, so we were more likely to eat early than late if we did have something going on at dinner time. But we were able to stick with about 5:30 for the most part.

We had neighbors who always ate right after school, though - she was a SAHM and he worked an odd shift, so that was the time they could all eat together. She would just give her kids a snack later - kind of the reverse of a snack after school and a late dinner ... and probably healthier, actually.

 

[Disneylover99]

When the kids were young, my husband got home from work at 3:30pm. He’d start dinner, and the kids and myself would be home between 4:00-4:30pm. We’d all eat dinner as soon as we got home.

It worked out great! There was always plenty of time to eat before evening sports or activities. We still like to eat early.

 

[NYCgrrl]

The family ate dinner at 6:30 most nights; it changed to 7:00 as they got older. I had already completed most of my uni cooking classes by then so had a bit of menu planning and nutrition under my belt. Boy was that helpful in the real world.
Snacking was limited in between meals. Just not something I felt wise.

 

[lanejudy]

Not on a regular basis, but yes we've had supper as early as 4pm some nights because there was a concert, play or other event. Our regular supper time is 5pm as early as 4pm or as late as 6pm. Both DH and DD are diabetics so we try to stick to a regular meal schedule plus DD is still very early-to-bed so anything later just doesn't work for us. I meal plan for the week and prep as much as possible, crockpot meals, cold salads or sandwiches, etc. Sometimes we take a "lunchbox" supper with us to watch a sporting event or such.

 

[tvguy]

When the kids were young, my husband got home from work at 3:30pm. He’d start dinner, and the kids and myself would be home between 4:00-4:30pm. We’d all eat dinner as soon as we got home.

It worked out great! There was always plenty of time to eat before evening sports or activities. We still like to eat early.

Like I said, my work schedule always had me off work before my kids were out of school. I fixed dinner for 17 years, and I was working 11 pm to 7 am shift in those years. We kind of played Iron Chef, if you remember that show. My wife would set some protein out, I would fix something with it so dinner would be ready as soon as my wife got home. That varied over the years, progressively getting earlier as she moved from a 10 to 630 shift, Then, 930 to 6, 9 to 530, and 8:30 am to 5 pm. When our youngest was a Sophomore in High School, I moved to a 3 am to 11:30 am shift, and my wife to a 430 am to 1 pm shift.
It occurs to me that if you have a 30 or 60 minute lunch break, that can really mess with your dinner schedule too. I worked 8 straight without a meal break for about 26 years at three different employers. My last employer got caught in a crackdown with the state of California over that. In California, you MUST take an unpaid meal break of at least 30 minutes, you can't waive it, and it can't be tacked on the beginning or end of your work day, it must happen between 3 and 5 hours after the start of your shift. At first, after the crackdown, we were all assigned 60 minute lunch breaks. I was not a fan of that. They finally allowed me to cut it to 30 minutes, but since I couldn't go home, I was being forced to stay at work an extra 30 or 60 minutes without pay.

 

[brockash]

How early, is too early for dinner if you have kids? Interesting article. My work schedule was such that I was off of work before my kids were out of school, so that wasn't an issue for me. What always was tough was after school sports. It was a mad dash from school with practice often starting 30 minutes after school let out. Kids changing clothes in the car, eating a granola bar. Soccer was usually over by 7 pm, but Little League in May could go as late as 8:30 pm, and only then could we get home to start fixing dinner, do homework, get showers. That explains the lines at the neighborhood Burger King, McDonalds, Jack In The Box and Taco Bell with cars full of kids in sports uniforms.
What do you think, could you pull this off in your household? Could you do it? Not sure how folks working a normal 830 am to 5 job could do it, even those working 730 am to 4 pm would have a tough time. This has been a topic on the Cruise Line forum, because on Disney ships early sitting dinner is very popular and often fills up, forcing some to have dinner at 8:30 pm.

https://www.today.com/parents/families-eat-dinner-after-school-rcna168213

Over the years we've eaten as early as 3:45 to as late as 8:30, depending on the kids schedules. I work in a school, so I go in early, but am also usually off earlier and go to bed earlier, so on the weekdays we typically eat earlier around 4:45/5 if we don't have any activities going on etc.

3:45 and 8:30 were rare, however there was a period of time that my oldest had football practice that from 4:30-7:30, so the kids and I ate most nights around 3:45 for at least a season or 2 of football.

 

[mjkacmom]

With 5 over scheduled kids, we ate when a majority were home. Dance was every night, 4 kids played 3 seasons of varsity sports so they got home from school close to 6, a couple also played club soccer so that was at night. They’d sit, eat quickly, and leave again. When they were little it was dance, gymnastics, TKD, swim, skating, rec sports, scouting, always had something every day.

 

[tvguy]

Over the years we've eaten as early as 3:45 to as late as 8:30, depending on the kids schedules. I work in a school, so I go in early, but am also usually off earlier and go to bed earlier, so on the weekdays we typically eat earlier around 4:45/5 if we don't have any activities going on etc.

3:45 and 8:30 were rare, however there was a period of time that my oldest had football practice that from 4:30-7:30, so the kids and I ate most nights around 3:45 for at least a season or 2 of football.

Never seen football practice run that late. I think here High School football teams do conditioning at 7 am before school, and practice 15 minutes after school got out. But that may have changed time wise because California passed a law that high schools can't start before 830 am. The traditionally started at 8 am and got out at 3 pm, now they get out at 3:30 pm. But with only 15 minutes between school and practice, no way for kids to go home and eat before practice. Not sure I would want to practice on a full stomach.

 

[brockash]

Never seen football practice run that late. I think here High School football teams do conditioning at 7 am before school, and practice 15 minutes after school got out. But that may have changed time wise because California passed a law that high schools can't start before 830 am. The traditionally started at 8 am and got out at 3 pm, now they get out at 3:30 pm. But with only 15 minutes between school and practice, no way for kids to go home and eat before practice. Not sure I would want to practice on a full stomach.

This was long before he was in HS (honestly once they got to HS it got easier as practice was always after school and most times transportation home was provided by the school.) We were in OK at the time of the 430-730 practices and it was A LOT. My son loved it but my poor daughter was just dragged out to practice each night although I was getting my masters at the time and was able to get a good amount of work done then lol.

 

[pinkxray]

Our typical dinner time is between 430-5. I get home at 430 and Dh gets home around 4, after picking the kids up from school. Everyone is hungry. I have found if the kids have a snack they don’t eat dinner, so I usually have everything prepped the day before so dinner get done quick once I get home. If the kids have an afterschool activity, one parent has it so dinner is on the table once everyone is home.

We are all early risers so breakfast is between 630/7, lunch around 1130/12. Dinner is around 430 if possible. The kids typically have a snack after dinner such as yogurt or fruit.

 

[Darcy03231]

When my kids were young and involved in after school activities they ate dinner after school (they were always starving). I'd make big meals on the weekends so there were leftovers, or there would be a crock pot meal or casserole, salad, chopped up fruit, veggies & dip, etc. Then they'd have something on the lighter side when we got home.

 

[DanceDisney23]

We are living the dance life right now. I’m working 9-5ish and DH has rotating split shifts. Usually it’s get off work, get in the car, drive to dance, then get home between 7:45 and 9:15 and have dinner. DD eats a snack after school.

I try to plan and prep ahead, but depending on how busy the week is, or how tired I am, sometimes we stop for fast food or just have sandwiches or ramen for dinner. We have also had dinner at 10 pm in the past. Not my favorite.

 

[disneychrista]

Dinner time was 5pm when I was little but changed to 6pm after mom started working. I always worked so dinner was usually around 6pm for my kids.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

We never eat before 6:00. When our son was in school practice ran from 3:30-5:30 or 6. My husband coached high school and junior high for almost 30 years. He also taught one or two night classes at a local college so after practice he went straight to class. Dinner was pretty flexible for many years. Now that our son is grown, my husband quit coaching and teaching college classes and I no longer work we can actually plan meals and eat between 6 and 6:30.

 

[Skippy918]

When the kids were little I would get home by 5 and then try to have dinner by 5:30. Now they are older so dinner is less urgent. Half the time they are both busy with afterschool stuff so we have a lot of fend for yourself nights.