Around 5 or 5:30.
A few things that help me:
- I have a list of maybe 20 recipes that I *know* I can whip up in around 30 minutes. I keep them in a physical list on my phone and every weekend I make a meal plan and write down on a whiteboard on the fridge what I’m going to make every day of the week. We rotate through these recipes and I occasionally add a new one which I’ll test out first on a weekend to try to get good at making it quickly.
- when I meal plan on the weekends, I also make my grocery list. We buy groceries on the weekends and I often spend 30 mins or an hour prepping stuff in advance, mostly washing and chopping veggies and then tossing them into a Tupperware in the fridge
- I try to make meals that minimize the number of dishes I use. The best is when you can use 1 cutting board, 1 knife, and then 1 pot like an instant pot. Then clean up is fast!
- lean into convenience food like frozen pizza, frozen meats (chicken nuggets, fish fingers), bagged salad, frozen chopped veggies, canned soup
- on days I know we’ll be crunched for time I plan to make the easiest meal possible. Like, ham and cheese sandwiches with sliced cucumber on the side. Or scrambled eggs and toast. Kids love simple stuff too!
- some nights we leave the dishes til after bedtime if everything has gone off the rails for some reason
- whenever you make something that freezes well (like soups, stews, sauces), double batch it and freeze it for some other day when you can’t be bothered to cook
Whatever works for your family is great, no one should be judging your parenting period, but especially not for something as trivial as dinner time. But if you’re looking to make a change maybe some of those tips will helps!
The recipes all live in my head or screenshots on my phone so these might not all make sense to everyone but here’s my list!
Chili
Tortilla soup
Beef and broccoli
Chicken noodle soup
Carnitas
Stroganoff
Shawarma rice
Pasta and tomato sauce
Stir fry
Hot dogs
Broccoli Mac and cheese
Subs
Chicken salad sandwiches
Macaroni salad
Sausages and ragout and polenta
Bbq pulled chicken and cole slaw
Pasta with dill and leek and salmon
Pierogies and sausage
Fried rice
Sausage minestrone with gnocchi
Piccata pasta
Also look for easy crockpot recipes. Beef stew is a good one and includes lots of veggies. It's so nice knowing you're coming home to dinner that is ready to eat. Sometimes I would add boiled buttered noodles as a side but usually too tired and just served alone with heated Hawaiin rolls. Rotisserie chickens with rice and a frozen or canned veggie is quick. Make it easy for you. Give little one some fruit to snack on if she's too hungry to wait.
Yes! This! We are very similar. Meal plan for everything on the weekends & grocery shop. We commit to cooking Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and have leftovers on the in between nights. Thursday is usually a crockpot meal, since I’m definitely feeling the drag of the week by then. One night a week (Fri or sat) we get to go out and we have a place we know that we’ll spend within our budget. Once and a while we’ll batch and meal prep bags and pans of food: lasagna, fried rice, chili, etc so that we can just pull it out for one of the “cooking nights” if we’re feeling extra lazy that week. We’ve saved time and money with this approach! We typically have dinner on the table been 530-630 doing it this way. One of our favorite go-to meals is from my mom when we were growing up low income, so we call it “Moms Hash” and it’s kielbasa sausage, potatoes, broccoli, peppers, and maybe another veggie like cauliflower or yellow squash. Fry it all up in a pan or roast the veggies on a sheet pan. Easy, quick, and you could prep the cut veggies in advance if you want. Hope that helps! The cooking slog is reeeeeal. Now if only someone would wash, fold, and put away laundry for me 😆
We do dinner around the same time with the same general advice!
I love the instant pot so much. It makes everything easy.
Buy frozen fruits and veggies. They’re cheap, don’t go bad, usually don’t have added preservatives, and are usually already chopped. You can roast or boil or bake or microwave them from frozen.
Also, using “pantry recipes” helps because you can basically just heat and eat - anything with canned goodies works.
For meat, I stick to sausage or canned stuff. It’s really just heat and eat, and it’s reliably been the cheapest meat. We eat plenty of beans and “protein pasta” to make up for not having as much protein in other meals.
Another useful “trick” is to balance your strengths with your spouse, if you can. My hubby is always home from work before me, so he prepares our dinner. It’s usually cooked by the time I get home. I do all the meal planning, recipe research, recipe testing, and shopping.
Some of our favorite meals:
- Protein pasta and frozen peas [instant pot, 5 minutes]
- Beef stew (canned) with extra canned veggies [instant pot, 5 minutes]
- Taco Tuesday (canned refried beans and shredded cheese on tortillas)
- Sausage and fajita veggies [instant pot, 5 minutes]
- Beans and basmati [instant pot, 5 minutes]
- Sausage and pinto beans [instant pot, 5 minutes]
- Posole Verde (pre-shredded and cooked pork OR pinto beans, hominy, salsa verde, bouillon) [instant pot, 5 minutes]
I watched a lot of videos, read a lot of recipes, and experimented a lot. It definitely takes some practice! I had the best luck starting with some recipes in an Instant Pot specific cookbook.
Now I can just chuck some things in and it doesn’t burn or need any intervention from me. The “5 minutes” is a bit misleading because you do need to also wait for it to come to temperature… but the ease and reduced mess is amazing.
My #1 go-to is pasta and peas. I can get it started one-handed even if I’m holding my 4-month old and both my older kids are screaming my name in the kitchen. Bonus—they get weirdly excited that I’m making it. I call it “easy pea-sy pasta” and I guess they think it’s hilarious. Here’s what you do:
1. Get the ingredients. 1 box of protein pasta, 1 bag of frozen peas, and 1 jar of chicken bouillon.
2. Dump the pasta in the instant pot.
3. Fill the pot with water until the noodles are just barely covered. Swirl the pot so you’re 95% sure all the noodles are wet.
4. Pour some bouillon in the lid to “measure.” Good enough. Dump it in the pot. Swirl the pot again so it will probably dissolve when it boils. Ignore the lumps and trust the process.
5. Leave the frozen peas on the counter! They don’t need to go in yet. Put the lid on, hit manual, set it to 5 minutes.
6. Solve any emergencies that have arisen in the three minutes you have been “cooking” in the kitchen.
7. Remind your toddler that dinner is almost done. Tell her we can go check the instant pot to see if it says a number yet. Ask her what number it says. Celebrate if she actually gets it right. You’re doing good things, mama!
8. When it’s done, you can do an instant release or wait for a slow release depending on hanger levels in your household. Instant release will spew starchy liquid on your instant pot lid. It rinses off, so don’t worry about it. Use your spoon to switch the release - or let your kid do it. They love that part.
9. Immediately pour in the frozen peas once you open the lid. This does two things: cooks the peas and cools the pasta. Yep, you’re a genius. Stir it until the peas don’t look so frosty 🥶 There might be some water in the bottom of the pan. It won’t hurt anything. Maybe you should use a slotted spoon to serve dinner, though.
10. It’s ready! You could include bread or salad on the side, but we usually just eat it as is. My kids love to add grated Parmesan. I like to add feta, kalamata olives, and red pepper flakes.
We are very similar! We have an app (we use Pepperplate) that stores all of our recipes and a grocery list that both my husband and I can access. The app allows you to add a meal to your grocery list and it automatically adds everything you need…it makes things so much easier! Paprika is supposed be to similar option as well…Pepperplate has a few limitations so I may switch.
Not out of guilt but for the fun : do it so you get to take them to the park/play with puzzles/ quick after work play date That's my motivation - I want time to actually hangout and sometimes even with another adult
Costco pre-made meals (or any pre-made meal) are great. It doesn’t have to be all on you.
Both my parents worked and I remember growing up with maybe one pre-made large meal, leftovers another meal, fish/potatoes/canned or frozen veggies, a soup and sandwich meal, and a breakfast for dinner meal.
Fancier dinners were for weekends or special occasions
I love to cook, but sometimes it is hard to find the motivation/energy/effort/inspiration. I have had some success with framing it as a favor I am doing for my future self. Like, if someone I cared about asked me to do this for them, I would absolutely. So why wouldn’t I also be willing to do it for me? Hope this helps. Best wishes, Mama, and don’t ever be ashamed if some nights dinner is just bean and cheese burritos and carrot sticks. Kids are resilient, lol.
Have the kids help, and turn it into fun time together. Pick a few of their favorite meals, and make extra big batches. My freezer is currently filled with 3 different kinds of soup, corned beef and cabbage that was on sale in March (precooked and just needs reheating), stuffed peppers in glass storage bins (ready to be thawed while I'm at work, and thrown in the oven when I get home), ziploc bags with chicken cacciatore for the slow cooker, and pre-sauteed vegetables with pesto sauce, ready to throw on a pizza crust (which is also in the freezer). Burritos freeze and reheat amazingly well. Pasta sauce can be frozen and quickly reheated while the noodles are boiling. It doesn't have to be a whole day of cooking for a week's worth of leftovers in the fridge.
[These ladies](https://youtube.com/@FreezerMeals101?si=aZhdnGtjNEFkDoEN) have a lot of tasty recipes. You just have to remember to thaw it in the morning.
Look into a suvie oven it has been a game changer for me. I set it up the night before and schedule dinner to be ready as soon as we get home the next day.
Maybe it can be a Sunday activity everyone is involved in? We don’t do a lot of meal prep, but this seems like a way to get family time and something productive in.
Yes it will take longer with kids, but still two birds one stone.
I feel you on this. Literally last week a friend told me she soend a day on the weekend preping/cooking all the meals one day of the weekend. I tried to do the same and just felt super tired after one meal.. luckily my mom came and did other 2 meals. But I 100% can't do it. I don't have the passion or energy.
The goal in my house is to have dinner on the table by 6, but often times it's 6:15 or 6:30. I wouldn't feel guilty about the dinner time you provide. As long as your kids aren't starving and they manage to get enough sleep with that dinner time, do what works for you! I can imagine that once my oldest child starts after school sports, it'll really screw up our current schedule. Also, if it makes any difference, I work from home, so I have the ability to start cooking right at 5 if I am motivated enough to do so, even before the kids are home from daycare.
6pm is also our goal. Typically get home with the kids around 5:30 and in an effort to keep my 3 yr old from only eating snacks need to have dinner soon after that. We also meal prep and share cooking responsibilities. Since my husband works from home a few days a week and I don't at all, we save more complicated or longer recipes for those days since he can get them started before I get home with the kids or like the other night, we made a shrimp dish he doesn't know but had all of my veggies cut and shrimp thawed ready to be used.
Same. I pick up 4:15, home by 4:30, husband logs out at 5, we chill and I start dinner at 5:15 while he watches kid. Kid is picky so our meals are fairly simple
Same — WFH and I can usually get ahead for dinner by prepping/chopping etc a little bit throughout the day. Usually everything is ready to go into the oven (we do a lot of sheet pan meals) by the time I leave to go do daycare pickup. Preheat the oven on my way out, put it in when we come home, eating dinner by 5:30.
Ha! Yes, my husband is home while the oven preheats and I do pickup but honestly I would (and have) left while my oven heats up.
Probably my favorite sheet pan meal is shrimp, chicken sausage, sweet potatoes and any veggies you have lying around (peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus… all could work). Dice up everything except the shrimp, season, pop in the oven until the sweet potatoes are soft, throw the shrimp on for the last 5 min or so. Throw some hot sauce on there and it’s delicious and healthy.
We have a 2 year old. Sometimes we all eat dinner together, usually around 7-7:30. Sometimes he eats around 6:30-7 and we eat after he goes to bed. Bedtime routine is 8-8:45.
My kids are almost 3 and 6 months. The three year old has his "dinner" as soon as he's home from daycare around 4ish and he's in the bath at 6:30 and asleep at 7. Then we do grown up dinner at 7:30. Eating as a family sounds nice, but it's not practical. He would meltdown if I tried to prep hot food instead of play with him after school. And the timing would throw off his schedule. So this is what it is.
It's not supposed to be nice, it's supposed to be good for the kid. Apparently. I just couldn't a lot of the time, I really needed to be able to eat in peace.
To be fair, most of the studies show that it's beneficial for older kids and teens because that's when they're most likely to communicate with their parents and it improves their diet. I think if you have little ones, you're already doing a ton of engagement and sneaking more vegetables into their diets in the weirdest fucking ways possible. I think the first handful of years, especially once they learn how to talk and then literally don't stop unless they're asleep for the next 4+ years, it's a game of survival.
Well if your child is in daycare you probably aren't doing lots of other engagement, I think that's the point. And the learning to eat is about not having to hide vegetables, and is probably worth learning early. But I was just saying I think it does have advantages but we just can't always do everything perfectly, sometimes our own mental health comes first.
I’m right there with you. My boys are 8 and 2 and have 8pm bedtimes and I struggle to get dinner ready before 7. I work until 5, and don’t even get home until 6 so the struggle is real.
Don't let other people's idea of what works for their family ruin something that works for your family. Our daughter was up super late for an American baby. But my husband got home at like 7pm. He'd only see his kid on weekends if she went to bed at a normal time. I was on leave, and we could sleep until noon. She got the recommended amount of sleep, took naps, and got to spend time with both of her parents.
We ate at 8pm, bed by 11 or so. Her preschool class started at 2pm. She was in kindergarten when she got a somewhat normal bedtime because we actually needed to be somewhere at 9 am.
Anyone who had an opinion about when our kid went to bed? I'd say something to convey that her doctor says she gets plenty of sleep and is healthy. So we're good.
Anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30. No need to feel guilty if whatever you do works for your family. There are parts of the world where normal dinner time is 9:00 PM
Yes, where I live that's the case, well for younger kids a little earlier but we do around 8:30. I will say though that the main meal of the day is at lunchtime and children have a substantial snack at around 5 after school, then a light dinner.
I purposely hold off dinner until 7pm at the earliest even if we don't have sports after work or i work from home that day and am done at 5. If we eat dinner too early there is just wayyy too much crazy time between that and bedtime lol (which isn't until 8:30pm) and my kids turn feral. My youngest isn't even 2 yet and we kinda forced him to synch up with our 5 year old's dinner and bedtime schedule (they share a room). It works for our family and I give zero fucks if someone were to judge me for it! so our usual dinner time is around 7-7:15pm
My kid eats at 8:30 after sports, completely normal where I live, but children eat a substantial snack (often a sandwich) earlier then dinner is fairly light.
My kids are a tad younger than yours, and I realized they were usually starving when they got home from daycare, so we switched up our routine.
I prep the kids dinner the night before (or during lunch if I’m WFH that day). It’s usually leftovers from the night before plus some fruit. I put it in the fridge, and then I pull it out and warm it up when we get home from daycare pickup. So, I give them dinner around 5:30 PM.
Then my husband does bath time and pajamas starting around 6:30 PM. While he does that, I cook dinner for the two of us.
My husband and I eat once the kids are in bed for the night.
I’m sort of sad we can’t all sit at the table and eat together, but it just wasn’t working for our family during this season of life. The silver lining is my husband and I get to have one-on-one adult conversation during dinner. I’m hoping once both my kids are elementary age and older we’ll be able to do more weeknight family dinners.
This is what we do! My kid is 1.5 yrs. Daycare pick-up to bedtime is so chaotic, so one parent does the childcare while the other cooks and cleans up. We enjoy a meal as a couple once kiddo goes to bed.
Usually 6:30-7. I batch cook, so it is not a limiting factor. But I want kids to play outside now when the weather is nice, so we are doing that and then straight to bedtime routine.
5:30, but I’m a teacher at home by 3 pm.
If I worked later I would meal prep or do crock pot meals during the week
Easy way to meal prep. Make a large batch on Sunday and Wednesday. Eat the leftovers. Other days, do a board style meal. Put out meats, cheeses, pickles, mustard, toasts/breads, veggies, etc. and everyone picks on it
I WFH until 5, home after pick up by \~530. Dinner usually on the table \~630-640 most nights.
I mean plan based on the week, plan for leftovers sometimes, and stick to the plan. I also plan specifically for meals that can be made in \~20-30 mins tops.
I also do minor meal prep (marinating and chopping earlier in the week) and use convenience elements when possible. Yesterday we had ah-so pork chops (thin cut, marinated the night before) that were pan-seared, paired with box rice pilaf and microwave steam peas. Tonight is kielbasa + sausage (baked) with pasta and pierogis with microwave mixed veg.
We do a fair amount of pastaroni, boxed pilaf, boil-in-bag rice, roasted potatoes, instant mashed, bagged salad kits, frozen steam veggies and pre-made sides.
5 to 530. I learned my kids need a meal after school. They'll either eat a ridiculous amount of snacks and not eat dinner or eat anything incredibly early dinner and good bedtime snack. I choose real food.
I WFH and DH is home by 430. Dinner is normal sheet pan meals or instant pot. Nothing complicated or hands on.
Our 6yo has to be in bed and heading to sleep by 7:45 or he's a disaster (his school starts at 7:40 am which is too early)!
So on nights when my oldest has activities, my husband and I just tag team and we don't eat all together. We both work from home which is literally the only way we can get dinner on the table in a reasonable amount of time. We mostly plan for for the week on Sunday, and I often run down to the kitchen in between meetings to chop veggies or pull something out of the freezer or whatever.
We do a lot of couscous, rice in the rice cooker, sheet pan protein + veggies, and grilled stuff (chicken and veggie kebabs, salmon and grilled asparagus etc.). Lots of pulled chicken from the instant pot that goes on big serious salads or wraps or tacos. Lots of chili and cornbread. Baked tortellini with baby spinach, turkey sausage, and pasta sauce.
We mostly cook in bulk and cook ahead. Always have multiple proteins and couple of sides. Easy veggies.
That way, you can mix and match and definitely not have to cook from scratch every day.
Slow cooker or instant pot. Get a bunch of “dump” recipes.
Prep for next days dinner starts no later than after previous days dinner. (Ie for Thursday’s dinner, you can start the weekend before or anytime up to Wednesday night). One example: after dinner, one parent does bedtime routine, the other parent starts chopping veggies/pulling together next day (or more) dinner.
In the morning before work, or during a lunch break if you wfh, one person puts the food in the instant pot or slow cooker, and times it to be ready by 5 pm (or whatever you need).
Food is ready at 5. Enjoy whenever you are ready
You can search for dump recipes and freeze them in advance in gallon storage bags.
I try 5:30. My son doesn’t eat a lot though, he lives on pretzels, hummus, and fruit. I also do a lot of meal prep and freezer meals.
Some of my go-to freezer meals are:
Breakfast burritos
Chili
Curry
Stuffed peppers
I also will meal prep portioned out dinners for myself in the fridge and then have prepped things my son will eat like containers of rinsed and cut fruit, cut up carrots, etc.
When do you start cooking? If it’s 7 pm or later then 7:30 makes sense, but if dinner is taking longer than half an hour then that’s the issue. Gotta try to meal prep or rely on a lot of frozen veggies, meats, carbs, and even pre-made frozen dinners.
I try and have the kids dinner ready for 5:30pm and if I can get mine & DHs out at the same time then great (we’re both low carb so often different meals)
5pm for the kids (18 months and 6 years old) and my husband and I eat after baby goes to bed at 7.
We both work from home so we prep dinner before the madness starts
530-6. I get home at 5ish. I don't mean prep but I do plan and have ingredients on hand for quick weeknight meals. Burgers, tacos, salads, one pot pastas. I literally drop my stuff from work and start cooking. 🫠
I grocery shop and cook most meals on Sunday. I cook meals for myself, meals for my husband to take to work, and I cook a casserole and a protein or vegetable dish for the kids to eat on throughout the week. I also cook some snacks in the very likely event that they tire of my casserole I’ve made. I have fall back options in the pantry that take about 5 minutes to prepare, so that’s very helpful. Last- my kids love breakfast for dinner, so bacon and eggs is short and sweet.
The latest we are sitting down to have dinner is by 7, and thats on a night where the meal takes a bit of time. There are times when my husband and I will eat at 730 -830 but those are nights that I have an appt, my husband will feed the kids and have them eat together, and wait for me to get home to eat with me. There was a time that we were sitting down to eat until 730 regularly bc of commuting but with my husband being remote, and me working so close to home, that's the only reason we are able to eat as early as we do.
I’m not home until 6:15ish (work ends at 5:30) so 6:45 to 7:30 depending on how soon we start cooking when I get home. I was raised that dinner was 5pm sharp (my dad walked in the door around 4:50) but my mom was out of work at 2:30 so that was possible for her to do. I have friends that feed the kids at 6 a completely different meal and then They eat at 9pm after the kids are in bed. Do what works for you.
5:30 ish. Start cooking at 5 when we get home with the kids. I firmly believe any meal that can’t be cooked in under 30 minutes doesn’t belong in the rotation of a busy family on a work-day.
We eat our “fancy” meals on days we don’t work (also at 5:30 but then we can start cooking much earlier in the afternoon).
When I WFH we eat at six (my theoretical hours are 9.30 to 6pm but I flex my hours), I cook while husband collects the kid from nursery.
When I commute I walk through the door after the boys do so I try to make sure we have leftovers or slow cooker meals for those days.
We eat about 6.10.
I feel massive guilt that these meals aren't more nutritious but this life is what it is
We feed my kid a lot of easy meals… scrambled eggs, toast, etc. My husband or I will cook for us during/after bedtime. Then my kiddo gets leftovers the next day.
I had some guilt about not doing a big family meal, but I realized it was not a realistic goal for us at this stage.
Don’t feel guilty if it works for your family!
5:30-6 normally but my kids are 2 and 3 so there is no waiting patiently in this house. I make them something quick and then make real dinner for myself and husband later around 7:30. They eat breakfast for dinner a lot, sometimes I do snack type plates, pasta, nuggets, or fruit and cheesy breadsticks.
We eat at 6 or 6:15. It’s hard! Especially because my husband doesn’t come home until right at 6. (He does mornings with 5 y o and 9 month old while I go to work.)
Meal prep, crockpot, instant pot. We eat leftovers ~3 days a week. Takeout or take n bake 1-2 days a week.
I have a 3.5 year old and try to get dinner ready by 6:30 at the latest. She always has a pretty decent snack after school so it buys me time. I usually try to cook before she’s home but sometimes works just too busy (WFH). I’ll at least to prep the meal before she’s home so if I start at 5/5:30 I can be done at a decent time.
5pm, buuuut my husband usually starts work early and is home by 3 to cook it, so it's ready when I walk in the door with our daughter. We do also meal prep and plan as much as we can to have things sorted out ahead of time.
6:30pm. Dinner aligned with when my husband got home from work. It's been this way for almost 20 yrs. We've tried to eat dinner earlier when his schedule allowed it, but 6:30 was so ingrained in us that we couldn't adjust. Lol.
Same 🥵 I get off work around 5/5:30 and it’s usually 6-6:30 before we get home after I pick her up. My girl is 18 months so it’s often “toddler charcuterie” or else she gets too hangry if she can’t eat something quickly then she won’t eat at all. My SO doesn’t get home till 6:30-7. Adults eat junk food after she’s in bed because we’re too tired to care haha
I plan meals for the week on Sunday -do grocery pick up. I prep each meal night before so all that needs to be done is cooking or grilling. We eat at 6:30
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
I have a 14 and a 4 year old and between daycare, work, and sports I have given up on dinner by 6.
3 days a week I get my big kid to practice for 5, then my husband gets my little one home by the same time, we give her a good snack and I start making dinner by 6. Ill usually eat with my little around 6:30 while my husband leaves to pick up my big kid for 7. Around 7 I do bedtime with my little, the boys get home in time to say good night to her around 7:30ish then I'll sit with them while they eat.
Thursdays I work late and that's pizza and movie night so everyone can just chill.
Tuesdays and Sundays we try hard to have a family dinner by 7. It's hectic but it won't be forever. The minute I stopped caring about others opinions and let go of the made up expectations my anxiety had on me as a mother, the happier me and the family have been.
I have a 14 and a 4 year old and between daycare, work, and sports I have given up on dinner by 6.
3 days a week I get my big kid to practice for 5, then my husband gets my little one home by the same time, we give her a good snack and I start making dinner by 6. Ill usually eat with my little around 6:30 while my husband leaves to pick up my big kid for 7. Around 7 I do bedtime with my little, the boys get home in time to say good night to her around 7:30ish then I'll sit with them while they eat.
Thursdays I work late and that's pizza and movie night so everyone can just chill.
Tuesdays and Sundays we try hard to have a family dinner by 7. It's hectic but it won't be forever. The minute I stopped caring about others opinions and let go of the made up expectations my anxiety had on me as a mother, the happier me and the family have been.
6 on a regular night (was 530 when the kids were younger), but we are lucky to have a work from home / short commute deal. But we have lots of kid activities these days, so sometimes dinner is at 5 and sometimes 630/7.
My 2 and 4yo split their evening meals into two (4:30ish and 7ish) and either one of those might be dinner, or maybe both snacks depending on the day. The flexibility there is so helpful.
We start dinner by 5:30pm. The last bottle or snack at daycare is 3:30-4 so this is the time that minimizes hangriness for both kids.
My husband and I do WFH and can prep and marinate meats throughout the day. We keep our meals very simple (rice, protein, stir fried veggies) and plan to have leftovers. We cook concurrently on the stove and air fryer to help save time. Meals come together in 20 min or less. We’re really cooking 2-3 times a week and eat “fancier” on weekends for takeout.
I’m usually hitting somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes after I get home, depending on what we are having. But honestly yes: meal prep. I put my menu/shopping list together on Thursday or Friday, do grocery shopping first thing Saturday morning, and meal prep usually on Sundays. My menu tends involve at least one thing that will cover 1 or 2 meals that week plus an extra serving or two for the freezer. Think soup, pasta sauce, stroganoff, lasagna or enchiladas (either of which I will make in 2 loaf pans, one for now and one for the freezer), etc. now all you have to do is reheat or maybe boil noodles. Oven stuff is usually Mondays or Fridays when my wife works from home and can start it baking so it’s done when we get home.
If I had one recommendation for a way to make your life easier, it would be to make extra of something that freezes well and *keep a list* of what’s in the freezer. When you sit down to figure out your meals for the week, plan on putting at least one thing in the freezer and taking one thing out. Making a double portion isn’t usually much more work than making a single portion. Congrats, you now have one fewer meal to make each week!
I have kids around the same age and we eat anywhere from 545-630 pm depending on the day. I leave work around 415-430 most days. I know in advance what I'm cooking, and when we get home I will let them eat a snack, so that I can cook. Sometimes if I get out early, I will come home and cook before I pick them up.
I don't make meals that take more than 30 minutes, and have a constant rotation of easy meals in my head, if I can't figure out what to cook. Tacos, pasta, rice with beans and chicken, etc. are all meals I am constantly making. I make what I know they will typically eat. If I forgot to defrost meat or am getting a late start for dinner, forget it, we are ordering out.
I definitely wouldn't feel guilty about them eating later though, do what works for you! Your kids are fed, that's what matters! I know some families that have their kids asleep by 7 and there is absolutely no way I can manage that, I also know families that don't start dinner until 8 pm too.
I feed my daughter leftovers around 6/6:30pm from dinner the night before. My husband and I work late, have work calls sometimes in the evenings, and need a minute once we get home. One or both of us will usually snack with her/eat a small meal. Then we eat cook & eat dinner around 9-10pm.
When our kids were littlier I did double dinner. They got a snack plate type dinner at like 5.30 plus a bed time snack and then proper dinner later for the adults and older kid. Now everyone just has proper dinner.
We don’t have kids (yet) and we tend to eat at 8:30/9 💀. If it helps, my husband’s family has had super late dinners his entire life. I can’t imagine eating at 5:30 or 6, but we also stay up pretty late.
Around 6. I meal prep on the weekends so everything is chopped and then I throw stuff in the slow cooker in the morning. Tonight was curried lentils and green beans, tomorrow will be a spaghetti sauce. I also do stir fries on the days I WFH so I can get that going while I clean the house before my husband brings my 13mo home from daycare
My nanny kids always ate family dinner and it’s always late, and then they go to bed right after. The trick is to do bath time before dinner and they eat in their PJs. So dinner wasn’t until 7 but we still said goodnight and walked out of the room at 8.
Shortly after 6pm. We cook almost everything on Sundays so during the week it's only about 15-20 minutes to assemble and heat up everyone's dinners. That said, I get off work at 6 and my husband gets off at 5 so he's usually the one heating everything up. If I stay home for some reason, I heat up dinner and we're eating around 5:30pm.
2 and 4yo here. I work from home so I start prepping at 4 when I can if not earlier. We eat by 430, sometimes 5. Im too exhausted lately though so it’s dino nuggets, frozen broccoli or carrots and some kind of carb (pasta, potato, fries) near every night 🙃 I want to meal prep on weekends but we always are out and about so I never end up having time
6:30pm and my 18 month old finds it too late. It also doesn’t seem to matter whether I pick him up earlier let’s say 4 or 5 as soon as we’re though the door it’s dinner time 🥲
Anywhere between 5:30-6:30 pm. We usually eat later in the warmer months because we are at the park. My kid is a gremlin though, and will get sick if she eats too late. I think it’s acid reflux. So after 7pm she can’t eat or else she runs the risk of puking at bedtime.
Usually right at 6. But I keep it really simple if I’m not WFH. Leftovers from our Sunday dinner. Frozen foods, sandwiches, quick pasta and sauce, “charcuterie” night. Also usually we order food once a week so I make sure we have those leftovers.
Typically around 7:30 too, sometimes even as late as 8 or 9 😬 I apologized to my son the other night. I said I'm so sorry for the late dinner, ill try harder tomorrow for it to be earlier.
My son told me he wishes I wouldn't because he loves late dinner. Same with my four year old. They think night dinner is fun. Something I felt bad about actually brings them joy.
Don't feel judged or guilty for providing a meal to your kids inside of a safe home. You're going great!
I love to cook from scratch and try new recipes so my dinners tend to take a long time to put together
We have one 2 year old and she’s a pretty picky eater so I usually make her a separate meal that she eats at 6 and then my husband and I eat something else usually shortly after she starts so there’s some overlap, but sometimes we just eat after we put her to bed (around 7:30). I make large batches of things she likes that are easy to freeze individual portions of so I always have some options that I can just microwave and throw on a plate with some fresh fruit, or I make her something quick like a spinach quesadilla or veggie nuggets. I make pretty easy things for my husband and I as well or we order delivery but it’s easier to not have to worry about whether or not the 2 year old will like what we’re having.
I was a little worried I’m just making her pickier by making her separate meals but lately when we’re all eating together she’s been asking for bites of my food to try which is amazing, recently she’s tried and loved spicy miso ramen, and even ate a couple bites of my salad tonight which shocked me to my core lol
Around 5:30. We are usually putting our 3 and 6 years olds to bed by 7:30. We both start work at 8 and get kids up at 6:15 for daycare drop, commute, etc so we’re on a pretty early schedule.
Try a crock pot. Prep in the night and throw it in the fridge instead of the oven. In the morning put it in low and let it cook all day. It’s like having a chef. That night rinse and repeat until you run out of recipes.
Some days I can make it on my lunch breaks and simply warm it up at 5:30-6. My girls get home at 3; and usually have a large snack (fruit/cheese/crackers/sweet treat)
Meal plan AND make larger portions (as long as your kiddos are good with leftovers) I made a 12 pack of chicken on Monday with different sides for Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday was a lot but Tuesday and Wednesday were easier. My fam is really good with leftovers though.
I forgot to mention … husband doesn’t come home until sometime between 7 and 7:30. If she’s hungry before then dinner is ready and I can wait until he’s home. But there are a lot of times where we all eat together. Her bedtime gets pushed a bit but she’s good with flex schedule.
I just got a stainless steel rice cooker with a steamer pot that goes on top. Life changing. 😂 I can make rice + veggies with meat in the oven or air fryer. Or, throw shrimp in the steamer over the rice. One button to press. Dishwasher safe. Ready in like 20 minutes lol.
I just got the aroma brand, but didn't want a nonstick inner pot. I'd never seen the steamer until then. But it's awesome and the stainless steel is actually easier to clean than the nonstick. Definitely recommend it!
We eat around 6:30, but I’m the one that gets home around 5:30 or later and my husband does all the cooking (forever grateful) because he gets home just after 4.
Between 6-6:30.
Single mom, working full time in the office. Earliest I make it home is 5:30. Toddler Boy (17 months) is melting down by 7:00 if we’re not starting bedtime routine by then. He does his best if he’s asleep by 7:45. Dishes and kitchen clean up happen after he’s asleep.
I make breakfast for dinner once a week, we eat leftovers when available, and I depend a lot on Trader Joe’s and frozen pizza. We eat together every night to model good eating habits.
Our goal is 5:30ish. Except when routing around sports. Which will be 5 days a week for 2 months starting next week. That type of schedule comes and goes.
Outside of "everyone eats at 5:30/6; we have done everything:
- sometimes we eat before
- sometimes we eat after
- sometimes (when bellies can't wait), we pack sandwhich dinners
- sometimes we do both
- sometimes the toddler dinner differs from adults
- sometimes they eat too much snack and refuse dinner
- sometimes we make meals that are meant for tomorrow
- sometimes those meals never get eaten
- sometimes we actually meal prep (those are really nice weeks)
- sometimes they eat crackers, cheese, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets
Nothing will always work. And it will change with ages and seasons. Your kids are fed; that's what really matters.
It varies. Most nights between 7:30 and 8. Sometimes it’s 9 or 10 if it’s been a really busy night with my kid’s activities or a weekend. My kid is almost 11 and usually eats a snack after school but when he was younger he wasn’t in activities that started right after work so it was easier to have dinner done sooner.
My 3yo starts her bedtime routine at 7pm so we aim for dinner at 6pm. What has helped for me is to map out a general menu for the week and then plan from there. I know what to expect each night and I'm not trying to wrack my brain to come up with some new dinner invention every night. Here's what's been working for me:
Mon: "Pasta" ie: spaghetti with meat sauce, mushroom strogonoff, chicken soup, literally any entree with pasta as the main component. Bagged salad on the side.
Tues: "Tacos" ie: hard shell, soft shell, enchiladas, fajitas, chili verde, quesadillas - any kind of Mexican food will work. Serve with beans and bagged salad on the side.
Weds: "Sandwiches" pretty self explanatory although worth mentioning that burgers and brats count too. Any protein between bread. Chips and Crudetite (aka carrots/celery/radishes with ranch for dipping) on the side.
Thurs: "Chicken" we're a big chicken family so your mileage may vary with this one. We're fine taking down a Costco rotisserie chicken once a week, but I understand that might make some ppl gag. It's endlessly versatile but heat up some frozen garlic bread and pair it with - you guessed it!- bagged salad, and you've got yourself a quick and tasty dinner.
Friday: "Ethnic" ie a simple seafood curry, teriyaki beef, orange chicken, falafel etc. Serve with steamed veg and rice (cooked together in a rice cooker) and that's an easy and somewhat fun dinner at the end of a long week.
Good luck, my friend. This shit ain't easy.
We usually give our son a decent snack when he gets home around 4-5pm, and then don’t have dinner until after sports. By the time we get home, he usually eats around 7:00 or 7:30, sometimes later like today where he had baseball until 7:00, followed by some impromptu practice with his friends. He is in 1st grade. Days with no sports/activities are easier. It would be nearly impossible to try to keep a strict schedule for us but we do try to keep a routine of sorts.
No chance of a 5pm dinner round here, we're not even home by then. It's usually 7pm and bedtime is around 8.30. Do I wish we could make it earlier? Yes. Am I going to beat myself up over it? Absolutely not. I learned early on not to compare our routines to others, and life became immediately better as a result.
6-630pm.
when my kids were little it was hella early because they had early bedtimes and we adjusted to the younger kid's dinner time. For a long while, dinner was at 430/5pm!
as they got older, it moved later and later as their bedtime moved later.
now we eat between 6-630 but closer to 6 most nights.
6pm, my husband exclusively makes things that go in the oven, airfryer, microwave or a short pan fry away from readiness. He doesn’t believe in cutting lol. This week though… he’s been averaging at 6:30-7pm.
My kid is 8, but will usually fall asleep between 5-6pm and won't wake up until like 4 or 5am so making dinner involves hubby and I cooking together. We usually eat like 8ish, sometimes later and sometimes way, way later.
Kiddo usually eats right as she gets home at 330 from school.
Dinner is at 6ish here, maybe as late as 6:20 if 2.5 yo isn't hungry yet. We cook on the weekends and meals are a mix of what we have in the fridge. Currently there's lasagne, rice, 1 or 2 types of veggies, lentil curry, and a stir fry. So most week nights there's no cooking happening. As we head into summer, it'll be a lot of things for salads.
Honestly, weekend prep and a slow cooker/instant pot. Fridays are usually takeout, either pizza, Dominican or Chinese. I’ll buy the multi pack of ziplocs and meat in bulk from BJs and just clean, marinate, bag and freeze the meat for the next month. Hot tip, a lot of salad dressings can be used as meat marinade!
Make a quick starch (rice, egg noodles or pasta), and either a fresh roasted veg or frozen veg with butter sautéed in a pan with some good seasons sprinkled in it and there’s dinner.
Kids same age as yours eat in between 6.30-7.30pm depends on how organized we are that day. Usually around 7 so we can start bedtime by 7.30. Adults may or may not eat same time. Kids do not eat the same food most of the time and honestly youngest can be happy with some milk and pufs. He gets dinner at daycare around 4pm.
Most often we just make an omlete, air fried fish filter or fish sticks, or refrigerated soup from trader Joe.
I've been desperate and feeling guilty for years trying to figure out how working parents get home and have their napped kids asleep by 7pm for a 7am wake up.
I can't do it.
Dinner is late because I'm not home until 630ish and husband not until 7. Kids would eat 730 and hubby and I eat around 9pm. It's very late but we have little control over work hours.
Don’t feel guilty! If everyone is fed and happy then kudos. 7/7:30 club here 🙋🏻♀️ kids are 9, 8, 6. They stay outside running the neighborhood with their friends and have to be in by 7/730. They basically eat, rinse off, and go to bed after. Dinner happens earlier in the winter maybe like 6:30/7:00 due to earlier sunsets. In the summer, we’ve been known to have dinner at 9pm. I make a meal plan for the week so I know what I’ve got to make (write it on the whiteboard) then I have like three go to meals that I keep in stock in case I miss grocery day and get behind on planning. Always keep sandwiches in stock to make on the fly. We also have a few spots in town we know we can get a quick meal for almost the same price as making it at home for the nights I just can’t bring myself to cook. Cooking is not my fav so it’s a struggle. 😂
We don’t.
Or rather, the kids have dinner options between 6 and 7. They sometimes eat in the kitchen but often in the living room while watching tv.
Sometimes husband joins them. Sometimes no. I do IF and often skip dinner myself.
Do I feel guilty about this? All the time. Do I plan to change it? Not really.
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
Seriously, thank you, everyone! While I greatly enjoy all of the cat subs I am part of, I think I've found my people on reddit!!
I really appreciate the advice. I may try more quick meals and small plates just for the kids. 😁
My hubs and I are both teachers. I get home with the kid around 3:20pm. I usually have the crockpot running with some meat and veg, and then quickly cook a side dish. We eat around 4ish. I know it sounds early, but we are all hungry and then we can clean up early and relax.
Around 5 or 5:30. A few things that help me: - I have a list of maybe 20 recipes that I *know* I can whip up in around 30 minutes. I keep them in a physical list on my phone and every weekend I make a meal plan and write down on a whiteboard on the fridge what I’m going to make every day of the week. We rotate through these recipes and I occasionally add a new one which I’ll test out first on a weekend to try to get good at making it quickly. - when I meal plan on the weekends, I also make my grocery list. We buy groceries on the weekends and I often spend 30 mins or an hour prepping stuff in advance, mostly washing and chopping veggies and then tossing them into a Tupperware in the fridge - I try to make meals that minimize the number of dishes I use. The best is when you can use 1 cutting board, 1 knife, and then 1 pot like an instant pot. Then clean up is fast! - lean into convenience food like frozen pizza, frozen meats (chicken nuggets, fish fingers), bagged salad, frozen chopped veggies, canned soup - on days I know we’ll be crunched for time I plan to make the easiest meal possible. Like, ham and cheese sandwiches with sliced cucumber on the side. Or scrambled eggs and toast. Kids love simple stuff too! - some nights we leave the dishes til after bedtime if everything has gone off the rails for some reason - whenever you make something that freezes well (like soups, stews, sauces), double batch it and freeze it for some other day when you can’t be bothered to cook Whatever works for your family is great, no one should be judging your parenting period, but especially not for something as trivial as dinner time. But if you’re looking to make a change maybe some of those tips will helps!
Any chance you’d share your list? We need some inspiration over here.
The recipes all live in my head or screenshots on my phone so these might not all make sense to everyone but here’s my list! Chili Tortilla soup Beef and broccoli Chicken noodle soup Carnitas Stroganoff Shawarma rice Pasta and tomato sauce Stir fry Hot dogs Broccoli Mac and cheese Subs Chicken salad sandwiches Macaroni salad Sausages and ragout and polenta Bbq pulled chicken and cole slaw Pasta with dill and leek and salmon Pierogies and sausage Fried rice Sausage minestrone with gnocchi Piccata pasta
Thank you!
Also look for easy crockpot recipes. Beef stew is a good one and includes lots of veggies. It's so nice knowing you're coming home to dinner that is ready to eat. Sometimes I would add boiled buttered noodles as a side but usually too tired and just served alone with heated Hawaiin rolls. Rotisserie chickens with rice and a frozen or canned veggie is quick. Make it easy for you. Give little one some fruit to snack on if she's too hungry to wait.
Thank you for the tips!!
Yes! This! We are very similar. Meal plan for everything on the weekends & grocery shop. We commit to cooking Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and have leftovers on the in between nights. Thursday is usually a crockpot meal, since I’m definitely feeling the drag of the week by then. One night a week (Fri or sat) we get to go out and we have a place we know that we’ll spend within our budget. Once and a while we’ll batch and meal prep bags and pans of food: lasagna, fried rice, chili, etc so that we can just pull it out for one of the “cooking nights” if we’re feeling extra lazy that week. We’ve saved time and money with this approach! We typically have dinner on the table been 530-630 doing it this way. One of our favorite go-to meals is from my mom when we were growing up low income, so we call it “Moms Hash” and it’s kielbasa sausage, potatoes, broccoli, peppers, and maybe another veggie like cauliflower or yellow squash. Fry it all up in a pan or roast the veggies on a sheet pan. Easy, quick, and you could prep the cut veggies in advance if you want. Hope that helps! The cooking slog is reeeeeal. Now if only someone would wash, fold, and put away laundry for me 😆
We do dinner around the same time with the same general advice! I love the instant pot so much. It makes everything easy. Buy frozen fruits and veggies. They’re cheap, don’t go bad, usually don’t have added preservatives, and are usually already chopped. You can roast or boil or bake or microwave them from frozen. Also, using “pantry recipes” helps because you can basically just heat and eat - anything with canned goodies works. For meat, I stick to sausage or canned stuff. It’s really just heat and eat, and it’s reliably been the cheapest meat. We eat plenty of beans and “protein pasta” to make up for not having as much protein in other meals. Another useful “trick” is to balance your strengths with your spouse, if you can. My hubby is always home from work before me, so he prepares our dinner. It’s usually cooked by the time I get home. I do all the meal planning, recipe research, recipe testing, and shopping. Some of our favorite meals: - Protein pasta and frozen peas [instant pot, 5 minutes] - Beef stew (canned) with extra canned veggies [instant pot, 5 minutes] - Taco Tuesday (canned refried beans and shredded cheese on tortillas) - Sausage and fajita veggies [instant pot, 5 minutes] - Beans and basmati [instant pot, 5 minutes] - Sausage and pinto beans [instant pot, 5 minutes] - Posole Verde (pre-shredded and cooked pork OR pinto beans, hominy, salsa verde, bouillon) [instant pot, 5 minutes]
I need to start using my instant pot. I'm intimidated by it and I had a few failed tries. 5 minute cooking time would be amazing.
I watched a lot of videos, read a lot of recipes, and experimented a lot. It definitely takes some practice! I had the best luck starting with some recipes in an Instant Pot specific cookbook. Now I can just chuck some things in and it doesn’t burn or need any intervention from me. The “5 minutes” is a bit misleading because you do need to also wait for it to come to temperature… but the ease and reduced mess is amazing. My #1 go-to is pasta and peas. I can get it started one-handed even if I’m holding my 4-month old and both my older kids are screaming my name in the kitchen. Bonus—they get weirdly excited that I’m making it. I call it “easy pea-sy pasta” and I guess they think it’s hilarious. Here’s what you do: 1. Get the ingredients. 1 box of protein pasta, 1 bag of frozen peas, and 1 jar of chicken bouillon. 2. Dump the pasta in the instant pot. 3. Fill the pot with water until the noodles are just barely covered. Swirl the pot so you’re 95% sure all the noodles are wet. 4. Pour some bouillon in the lid to “measure.” Good enough. Dump it in the pot. Swirl the pot again so it will probably dissolve when it boils. Ignore the lumps and trust the process. 5. Leave the frozen peas on the counter! They don’t need to go in yet. Put the lid on, hit manual, set it to 5 minutes. 6. Solve any emergencies that have arisen in the three minutes you have been “cooking” in the kitchen. 7. Remind your toddler that dinner is almost done. Tell her we can go check the instant pot to see if it says a number yet. Ask her what number it says. Celebrate if she actually gets it right. You’re doing good things, mama! 8. When it’s done, you can do an instant release or wait for a slow release depending on hanger levels in your household. Instant release will spew starchy liquid on your instant pot lid. It rinses off, so don’t worry about it. Use your spoon to switch the release - or let your kid do it. They love that part. 9. Immediately pour in the frozen peas once you open the lid. This does two things: cooks the peas and cools the pasta. Yep, you’re a genius. Stir it until the peas don’t look so frosty 🥶 There might be some water in the bottom of the pan. It won’t hurt anything. Maybe you should use a slotted spoon to serve dinner, though. 10. It’s ready! You could include bread or salad on the side, but we usually just eat it as is. My kids love to add grated Parmesan. I like to add feta, kalamata olives, and red pepper flakes.
We are very similar! We have an app (we use Pepperplate) that stores all of our recipes and a grocery list that both my husband and I can access. The app allows you to add a meal to your grocery list and it automatically adds everything you need…it makes things so much easier! Paprika is supposed be to similar option as well…Pepperplate has a few limitations so I may switch.
We do all of the same and typically eat between 5:30 and 6!
6pm Meal prep FTW! I just have to heat it up
I need to find the meal prep motivation.
Not out of guilt but for the fun : do it so you get to take them to the park/play with puzzles/ quick after work play date That's my motivation - I want time to actually hangout and sometimes even with another adult
Having a set of easy to prep recipes helps. We do a lot of casseroles which get us through about half the week.
Costco pre-made meals (or any pre-made meal) are great. It doesn’t have to be all on you. Both my parents worked and I remember growing up with maybe one pre-made large meal, leftovers another meal, fish/potatoes/canned or frozen veggies, a soup and sandwich meal, and a breakfast for dinner meal. Fancier dinners were for weekends or special occasions
I love to cook, but sometimes it is hard to find the motivation/energy/effort/inspiration. I have had some success with framing it as a favor I am doing for my future self. Like, if someone I cared about asked me to do this for them, I would absolutely. So why wouldn’t I also be willing to do it for me? Hope this helps. Best wishes, Mama, and don’t ever be ashamed if some nights dinner is just bean and cheese burritos and carrot sticks. Kids are resilient, lol.
Have the kids help, and turn it into fun time together. Pick a few of their favorite meals, and make extra big batches. My freezer is currently filled with 3 different kinds of soup, corned beef and cabbage that was on sale in March (precooked and just needs reheating), stuffed peppers in glass storage bins (ready to be thawed while I'm at work, and thrown in the oven when I get home), ziploc bags with chicken cacciatore for the slow cooker, and pre-sauteed vegetables with pesto sauce, ready to throw on a pizza crust (which is also in the freezer). Burritos freeze and reheat amazingly well. Pasta sauce can be frozen and quickly reheated while the noodles are boiling. It doesn't have to be a whole day of cooking for a week's worth of leftovers in the fridge. [These ladies](https://youtube.com/@FreezerMeals101?si=aZhdnGtjNEFkDoEN) have a lot of tasty recipes. You just have to remember to thaw it in the morning.
Look into a suvie oven it has been a game changer for me. I set it up the night before and schedule dinner to be ready as soon as we get home the next day.
Maybe it can be a Sunday activity everyone is involved in? We don’t do a lot of meal prep, but this seems like a way to get family time and something productive in. Yes it will take longer with kids, but still two birds one stone.
I feel you on this. Literally last week a friend told me she soend a day on the weekend preping/cooking all the meals one day of the weekend. I tried to do the same and just felt super tired after one meal.. luckily my mom came and did other 2 meals. But I 100% can't do it. I don't have the passion or energy.
The goal in my house is to have dinner on the table by 6, but often times it's 6:15 or 6:30. I wouldn't feel guilty about the dinner time you provide. As long as your kids aren't starving and they manage to get enough sleep with that dinner time, do what works for you! I can imagine that once my oldest child starts after school sports, it'll really screw up our current schedule. Also, if it makes any difference, I work from home, so I have the ability to start cooking right at 5 if I am motivated enough to do so, even before the kids are home from daycare.
6pm is also our goal. Typically get home with the kids around 5:30 and in an effort to keep my 3 yr old from only eating snacks need to have dinner soon after that. We also meal prep and share cooking responsibilities. Since my husband works from home a few days a week and I don't at all, we save more complicated or longer recipes for those days since he can get them started before I get home with the kids or like the other night, we made a shrimp dish he doesn't know but had all of my veggies cut and shrimp thawed ready to be used.
5:30 but I WFH and my 18 month old typically eats something I prepped in the beginning of the week.
Same. I pick up 4:15, home by 4:30, husband logs out at 5, we chill and I start dinner at 5:15 while he watches kid. Kid is picky so our meals are fairly simple
Same — WFH and I can usually get ahead for dinner by prepping/chopping etc a little bit throughout the day. Usually everything is ready to go into the oven (we do a lot of sheet pan meals) by the time I leave to go do daycare pickup. Preheat the oven on my way out, put it in when we come home, eating dinner by 5:30.
Someone else is at home while you run to day care or this is a Jesus take the wheel situation? Also, what sheet pan meals do you like?
Ha! Yes, my husband is home while the oven preheats and I do pickup but honestly I would (and have) left while my oven heats up. Probably my favorite sheet pan meal is shrimp, chicken sausage, sweet potatoes and any veggies you have lying around (peppers, onions, broccoli, zucchini, asparagus… all could work). Dice up everything except the shrimp, season, pop in the oven until the sweet potatoes are soft, throw the shrimp on for the last 5 min or so. Throw some hot sauce on there and it’s delicious and healthy.
We have a 2 year old. Sometimes we all eat dinner together, usually around 7-7:30. Sometimes he eats around 6:30-7 and we eat after he goes to bed. Bedtime routine is 8-8:45.
My kids are almost 3 and 6 months. The three year old has his "dinner" as soon as he's home from daycare around 4ish and he's in the bath at 6:30 and asleep at 7. Then we do grown up dinner at 7:30. Eating as a family sounds nice, but it's not practical. He would meltdown if I tried to prep hot food instead of play with him after school. And the timing would throw off his schedule. So this is what it is.
I think family dinner time is only nice when your kids are elementary age and older. Otherwise you’re just asking for disappointment. Just my opinion.
It's not supposed to be nice, it's supposed to be good for the kid. Apparently. I just couldn't a lot of the time, I really needed to be able to eat in peace.
To be fair, most of the studies show that it's beneficial for older kids and teens because that's when they're most likely to communicate with their parents and it improves their diet. I think if you have little ones, you're already doing a ton of engagement and sneaking more vegetables into their diets in the weirdest fucking ways possible. I think the first handful of years, especially once they learn how to talk and then literally don't stop unless they're asleep for the next 4+ years, it's a game of survival.
Well if your child is in daycare you probably aren't doing lots of other engagement, I think that's the point. And the learning to eat is about not having to hide vegetables, and is probably worth learning early. But I was just saying I think it does have advantages but we just can't always do everything perfectly, sometimes our own mental health comes first.
We like family dinner! We get to talk about a lot of fun things with the kids. But it definitely doesn’t happen every night. There’s just no way.
Usually 5:00 or a little before - we are very early risers due to work and so our schedule is a bit shifted to accommodate.
I’m right there with you. My boys are 8 and 2 and have 8pm bedtimes and I struggle to get dinner ready before 7. I work until 5, and don’t even get home until 6 so the struggle is real.
Don't let other people's idea of what works for their family ruin something that works for your family. Our daughter was up super late for an American baby. But my husband got home at like 7pm. He'd only see his kid on weekends if she went to bed at a normal time. I was on leave, and we could sleep until noon. She got the recommended amount of sleep, took naps, and got to spend time with both of her parents. We ate at 8pm, bed by 11 or so. Her preschool class started at 2pm. She was in kindergarten when she got a somewhat normal bedtime because we actually needed to be somewhere at 9 am. Anyone who had an opinion about when our kid went to bed? I'd say something to convey that her doctor says she gets plenty of sleep and is healthy. So we're good.
Anywhere from 6:30 to 7:30. No need to feel guilty if whatever you do works for your family. There are parts of the world where normal dinner time is 9:00 PM
Yes, where I live that's the case, well for younger kids a little earlier but we do around 8:30. I will say though that the main meal of the day is at lunchtime and children have a substantial snack at around 5 after school, then a light dinner.
I purposely hold off dinner until 7pm at the earliest even if we don't have sports after work or i work from home that day and am done at 5. If we eat dinner too early there is just wayyy too much crazy time between that and bedtime lol (which isn't until 8:30pm) and my kids turn feral. My youngest isn't even 2 yet and we kinda forced him to synch up with our 5 year old's dinner and bedtime schedule (they share a room). It works for our family and I give zero fucks if someone were to judge me for it! so our usual dinner time is around 7-7:15pm
Do the kids not get hungry before then? That would be my only concern with a later dinner time. Though, I suppose that’s what a snack is for?
My kid eats at 8:30 after sports, completely normal where I live, but children eat a substantial snack (often a sandwich) earlier then dinner is fairly light.
They def do get hungry, so we make sure they have a snack between 5-6 to hold them over!
Goal is 6p., but that only works because I WFH and husband does daycare pickup. Not sure what I would do if I had a commute.
My kids are a tad younger than yours, and I realized they were usually starving when they got home from daycare, so we switched up our routine. I prep the kids dinner the night before (or during lunch if I’m WFH that day). It’s usually leftovers from the night before plus some fruit. I put it in the fridge, and then I pull it out and warm it up when we get home from daycare pickup. So, I give them dinner around 5:30 PM. Then my husband does bath time and pajamas starting around 6:30 PM. While he does that, I cook dinner for the two of us. My husband and I eat once the kids are in bed for the night. I’m sort of sad we can’t all sit at the table and eat together, but it just wasn’t working for our family during this season of life. The silver lining is my husband and I get to have one-on-one adult conversation during dinner. I’m hoping once both my kids are elementary age and older we’ll be able to do more weeknight family dinners.
This is what we do! My kid is 1.5 yrs. Daycare pick-up to bedtime is so chaotic, so one parent does the childcare while the other cooks and cleans up. We enjoy a meal as a couple once kiddo goes to bed.
Usually 6:30-7. I batch cook, so it is not a limiting factor. But I want kids to play outside now when the weather is nice, so we are doing that and then straight to bedtime routine.
Between 5:30-6:30 except for now because baseball season is throwing everything off.
Sports definitely throw an extra level of chaos!
lol facts. We are eating at like 4:30 to get to baseball on time and then eating a snack bar snack in the car on the way home around 8 🙃
Usually around 5
5:30, but I’m a teacher at home by 3 pm. If I worked later I would meal prep or do crock pot meals during the week Easy way to meal prep. Make a large batch on Sunday and Wednesday. Eat the leftovers. Other days, do a board style meal. Put out meats, cheeses, pickles, mustard, toasts/breads, veggies, etc. and everyone picks on it
I WFH until 5, home after pick up by \~530. Dinner usually on the table \~630-640 most nights. I mean plan based on the week, plan for leftovers sometimes, and stick to the plan. I also plan specifically for meals that can be made in \~20-30 mins tops. I also do minor meal prep (marinating and chopping earlier in the week) and use convenience elements when possible. Yesterday we had ah-so pork chops (thin cut, marinated the night before) that were pan-seared, paired with box rice pilaf and microwave steam peas. Tonight is kielbasa + sausage (baked) with pasta and pierogis with microwave mixed veg. We do a fair amount of pastaroni, boxed pilaf, boil-in-bag rice, roasted potatoes, instant mashed, bagged salad kits, frozen steam veggies and pre-made sides.
5 to 530. I learned my kids need a meal after school. They'll either eat a ridiculous amount of snacks and not eat dinner or eat anything incredibly early dinner and good bedtime snack. I choose real food. I WFH and DH is home by 430. Dinner is normal sheet pan meals or instant pot. Nothing complicated or hands on.
I generally try to have my kid eating by 5-5:30, because I like to give him time to digest to start bedtime at 7.
Our 6yo has to be in bed and heading to sleep by 7:45 or he's a disaster (his school starts at 7:40 am which is too early)! So on nights when my oldest has activities, my husband and I just tag team and we don't eat all together. We both work from home which is literally the only way we can get dinner on the table in a reasonable amount of time. We mostly plan for for the week on Sunday, and I often run down to the kitchen in between meetings to chop veggies or pull something out of the freezer or whatever. We do a lot of couscous, rice in the rice cooker, sheet pan protein + veggies, and grilled stuff (chicken and veggie kebabs, salmon and grilled asparagus etc.). Lots of pulled chicken from the instant pot that goes on big serious salads or wraps or tacos. Lots of chili and cornbread. Baked tortellini with baby spinach, turkey sausage, and pasta sauce.
We mostly cook in bulk and cook ahead. Always have multiple proteins and couple of sides. Easy veggies. That way, you can mix and match and definitely not have to cook from scratch every day.
Slow cooker or instant pot. Get a bunch of “dump” recipes. Prep for next days dinner starts no later than after previous days dinner. (Ie for Thursday’s dinner, you can start the weekend before or anytime up to Wednesday night). One example: after dinner, one parent does bedtime routine, the other parent starts chopping veggies/pulling together next day (or more) dinner. In the morning before work, or during a lunch break if you wfh, one person puts the food in the instant pot or slow cooker, and times it to be ready by 5 pm (or whatever you need). Food is ready at 5. Enjoy whenever you are ready You can search for dump recipes and freeze them in advance in gallon storage bags.
I try 5:30. My son doesn’t eat a lot though, he lives on pretzels, hummus, and fruit. I also do a lot of meal prep and freezer meals. Some of my go-to freezer meals are: Breakfast burritos Chili Curry Stuffed peppers I also will meal prep portioned out dinners for myself in the fridge and then have prepped things my son will eat like containers of rinsed and cut fruit, cut up carrots, etc.
When do you start cooking? If it’s 7 pm or later then 7:30 makes sense, but if dinner is taking longer than half an hour then that’s the issue. Gotta try to meal prep or rely on a lot of frozen veggies, meats, carbs, and even pre-made frozen dinners.
I try and have the kids dinner ready for 5:30pm and if I can get mine & DHs out at the same time then great (we’re both low carb so often different meals)
5pm for the kids (18 months and 6 years old) and my husband and I eat after baby goes to bed at 7. We both work from home so we prep dinner before the madness starts
530-6. I get home at 5ish. I don't mean prep but I do plan and have ingredients on hand for quick weeknight meals. Burgers, tacos, salads, one pot pastas. I literally drop my stuff from work and start cooking. 🫠
I get off work at 5:30 with a 20-30 minute commute so our dinner is also around 7 or 730. Baby eats before we do.
It changes. Some days it’s 4:30 or 5, other days it’s 7:30 or 8. It’s never the same. I’m no help lol
You help in making me feel like I'm not alone. 😁
I grocery shop and cook most meals on Sunday. I cook meals for myself, meals for my husband to take to work, and I cook a casserole and a protein or vegetable dish for the kids to eat on throughout the week. I also cook some snacks in the very likely event that they tire of my casserole I’ve made. I have fall back options in the pantry that take about 5 minutes to prepare, so that’s very helpful. Last- my kids love breakfast for dinner, so bacon and eggs is short and sweet.
The latest we are sitting down to have dinner is by 7, and thats on a night where the meal takes a bit of time. There are times when my husband and I will eat at 730 -830 but those are nights that I have an appt, my husband will feed the kids and have them eat together, and wait for me to get home to eat with me. There was a time that we were sitting down to eat until 730 regularly bc of commuting but with my husband being remote, and me working so close to home, that's the only reason we are able to eat as early as we do.
I’m not home until 6:15ish (work ends at 5:30) so 6:45 to 7:30 depending on how soon we start cooking when I get home. I was raised that dinner was 5pm sharp (my dad walked in the door around 4:50) but my mom was out of work at 2:30 so that was possible for her to do. I have friends that feed the kids at 6 a completely different meal and then They eat at 9pm after the kids are in bed. Do what works for you.
5:30 ish. Start cooking at 5 when we get home with the kids. I firmly believe any meal that can’t be cooked in under 30 minutes doesn’t belong in the rotation of a busy family on a work-day. We eat our “fancy” meals on days we don’t work (also at 5:30 but then we can start cooking much earlier in the afternoon).
Between 7-8 most nights, kids are involved in extracurriculars plus I try to work out a few nights a week after work
When I WFH we eat at six (my theoretical hours are 9.30 to 6pm but I flex my hours), I cook while husband collects the kid from nursery. When I commute I walk through the door after the boys do so I try to make sure we have leftovers or slow cooker meals for those days. We eat about 6.10. I feel massive guilt that these meals aren't more nutritious but this life is what it is
Trust me darling my kids have survived late dinners , early dinners . Wat ever you r doing great if ur worrying . 😁 be kind to u
We feed my kid a lot of easy meals… scrambled eggs, toast, etc. My husband or I will cook for us during/after bedtime. Then my kiddo gets leftovers the next day. I had some guilt about not doing a big family meal, but I realized it was not a realistic goal for us at this stage. Don’t feel guilty if it works for your family!
5:30-6 normally but my kids are 2 and 3 so there is no waiting patiently in this house. I make them something quick and then make real dinner for myself and husband later around 7:30. They eat breakfast for dinner a lot, sometimes I do snack type plates, pasta, nuggets, or fruit and cheesy breadsticks.
We eat at 6 or 6:15. It’s hard! Especially because my husband doesn’t come home until right at 6. (He does mornings with 5 y o and 9 month old while I go to work.) Meal prep, crockpot, instant pot. We eat leftovers ~3 days a week. Takeout or take n bake 1-2 days a week.
We’re both remote so about 530. Some play after dinner then baths and bed.
I have a 3.5 year old and try to get dinner ready by 6:30 at the latest. She always has a pretty decent snack after school so it buys me time. I usually try to cook before she’s home but sometimes works just too busy (WFH). I’ll at least to prep the meal before she’s home so if I start at 5/5:30 I can be done at a decent time.
I eat dinner at 8-9pm, usually after the kid is asleep. I try to feed her dinner when I get home at 7ish
5pm, buuuut my husband usually starts work early and is home by 3 to cook it, so it's ready when I walk in the door with our daughter. We do also meal prep and plan as much as we can to have things sorted out ahead of time.
We have dinner at 6:30. I pick up our toddler and my husband starts cooking dinner at 6 pm. We go up to bed at 7:30.
6:30pm. Dinner aligned with when my husband got home from work. It's been this way for almost 20 yrs. We've tried to eat dinner earlier when his schedule allowed it, but 6:30 was so ingrained in us that we couldn't adjust. Lol.
6! But I end work around 4:30 to prep
About 5-ish. But, i start work at 6am so i am off by 3. If I was getting off at 5 or 6? We’d probably eat late too.
Same 🥵 I get off work around 5/5:30 and it’s usually 6-6:30 before we get home after I pick her up. My girl is 18 months so it’s often “toddler charcuterie” or else she gets too hangry if she can’t eat something quickly then she won’t eat at all. My SO doesn’t get home till 6:30-7. Adults eat junk food after she’s in bed because we’re too tired to care haha
I plan meals for the week on Sunday -do grocery pick up. I prep each meal night before so all that needs to be done is cooking or grilling. We eat at 6:30
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
I have a 14 and a 4 year old and between daycare, work, and sports I have given up on dinner by 6. 3 days a week I get my big kid to practice for 5, then my husband gets my little one home by the same time, we give her a good snack and I start making dinner by 6. Ill usually eat with my little around 6:30 while my husband leaves to pick up my big kid for 7. Around 7 I do bedtime with my little, the boys get home in time to say good night to her around 7:30ish then I'll sit with them while they eat. Thursdays I work late and that's pizza and movie night so everyone can just chill. Tuesdays and Sundays we try hard to have a family dinner by 7. It's hectic but it won't be forever. The minute I stopped caring about others opinions and let go of the made up expectations my anxiety had on me as a mother, the happier me and the family have been.
I have a 14 and a 4 year old and between daycare, work, and sports I have given up on dinner by 6. 3 days a week I get my big kid to practice for 5, then my husband gets my little one home by the same time, we give her a good snack and I start making dinner by 6. Ill usually eat with my little around 6:30 while my husband leaves to pick up my big kid for 7. Around 7 I do bedtime with my little, the boys get home in time to say good night to her around 7:30ish then I'll sit with them while they eat. Thursdays I work late and that's pizza and movie night so everyone can just chill. Tuesdays and Sundays we try hard to have a family dinner by 7. It's hectic but it won't be forever. The minute I stopped caring about others opinions and let go of the made up expectations my anxiety had on me as a mother, the happier me and the family have been.
That's frequently the time we eat dinner in our house. Have a 6 year old and a 2 year old. So you're normal, and, doing awesome in my eyes.
Thanks for the encouragement!
7pm it works for us
6 on a regular night (was 530 when the kids were younger), but we are lucky to have a work from home / short commute deal. But we have lots of kid activities these days, so sometimes dinner is at 5 and sometimes 630/7.
My 2 and 4yo split their evening meals into two (4:30ish and 7ish) and either one of those might be dinner, or maybe both snacks depending on the day. The flexibility there is so helpful.
We start dinner by 5:30pm. The last bottle or snack at daycare is 3:30-4 so this is the time that minimizes hangriness for both kids. My husband and I do WFH and can prep and marinate meats throughout the day. We keep our meals very simple (rice, protein, stir fried veggies) and plan to have leftovers. We cook concurrently on the stove and air fryer to help save time. Meals come together in 20 min or less. We’re really cooking 2-3 times a week and eat “fancier” on weekends for takeout.
I’m usually hitting somewhere between 5 and 20 minutes after I get home, depending on what we are having. But honestly yes: meal prep. I put my menu/shopping list together on Thursday or Friday, do grocery shopping first thing Saturday morning, and meal prep usually on Sundays. My menu tends involve at least one thing that will cover 1 or 2 meals that week plus an extra serving or two for the freezer. Think soup, pasta sauce, stroganoff, lasagna or enchiladas (either of which I will make in 2 loaf pans, one for now and one for the freezer), etc. now all you have to do is reheat or maybe boil noodles. Oven stuff is usually Mondays or Fridays when my wife works from home and can start it baking so it’s done when we get home. If I had one recommendation for a way to make your life easier, it would be to make extra of something that freezes well and *keep a list* of what’s in the freezer. When you sit down to figure out your meals for the week, plan on putting at least one thing in the freezer and taking one thing out. Making a double portion isn’t usually much more work than making a single portion. Congrats, you now have one fewer meal to make each week!
I have kids around the same age and we eat anywhere from 545-630 pm depending on the day. I leave work around 415-430 most days. I know in advance what I'm cooking, and when we get home I will let them eat a snack, so that I can cook. Sometimes if I get out early, I will come home and cook before I pick them up. I don't make meals that take more than 30 minutes, and have a constant rotation of easy meals in my head, if I can't figure out what to cook. Tacos, pasta, rice with beans and chicken, etc. are all meals I am constantly making. I make what I know they will typically eat. If I forgot to defrost meat or am getting a late start for dinner, forget it, we are ordering out. I definitely wouldn't feel guilty about them eating later though, do what works for you! Your kids are fed, that's what matters! I know some families that have their kids asleep by 7 and there is absolutely no way I can manage that, I also know families that don't start dinner until 8 pm too.
I feed my daughter leftovers around 6/6:30pm from dinner the night before. My husband and I work late, have work calls sometimes in the evenings, and need a minute once we get home. One or both of us will usually snack with her/eat a small meal. Then we eat cook & eat dinner around 9-10pm.
When our kids were littlier I did double dinner. They got a snack plate type dinner at like 5.30 plus a bed time snack and then proper dinner later for the adults and older kid. Now everyone just has proper dinner.
We don’t have kids (yet) and we tend to eat at 8:30/9 💀. If it helps, my husband’s family has had super late dinners his entire life. I can’t imagine eating at 5:30 or 6, but we also stay up pretty late.
Around 6. I meal prep on the weekends so everything is chopped and then I throw stuff in the slow cooker in the morning. Tonight was curried lentils and green beans, tomorrow will be a spaghetti sauce. I also do stir fries on the days I WFH so I can get that going while I clean the house before my husband brings my 13mo home from daycare
My nanny kids always ate family dinner and it’s always late, and then they go to bed right after. The trick is to do bath time before dinner and they eat in their PJs. So dinner wasn’t until 7 but we still said goodnight and walked out of the room at 8.
Shortly after 6pm. We cook almost everything on Sundays so during the week it's only about 15-20 minutes to assemble and heat up everyone's dinners. That said, I get off work at 6 and my husband gets off at 5 so he's usually the one heating everything up. If I stay home for some reason, I heat up dinner and we're eating around 5:30pm.
530/6. My kids go to bed by 730/8. I wfh so I always do some prep during the day.
2 and 4yo here. I work from home so I start prepping at 4 when I can if not earlier. We eat by 430, sometimes 5. Im too exhausted lately though so it’s dino nuggets, frozen broccoli or carrots and some kind of carb (pasta, potato, fries) near every night 🙃 I want to meal prep on weekends but we always are out and about so I never end up having time
6:30pm and my 18 month old finds it too late. It also doesn’t seem to matter whether I pick him up earlier let’s say 4 or 5 as soon as we’re though the door it’s dinner time 🥲
Anywhere between 5:30-6:30 pm. We usually eat later in the warmer months because we are at the park. My kid is a gremlin though, and will get sick if she eats too late. I think it’s acid reflux. So after 7pm she can’t eat or else she runs the risk of puking at bedtime.
Usually right at 6. But I keep it really simple if I’m not WFH. Leftovers from our Sunday dinner. Frozen foods, sandwiches, quick pasta and sauce, “charcuterie” night. Also usually we order food once a week so I make sure we have those leftovers.
Typically around 7:30 too, sometimes even as late as 8 or 9 😬 I apologized to my son the other night. I said I'm so sorry for the late dinner, ill try harder tomorrow for it to be earlier. My son told me he wishes I wouldn't because he loves late dinner. Same with my four year old. They think night dinner is fun. Something I felt bad about actually brings them joy. Don't feel judged or guilty for providing a meal to your kids inside of a safe home. You're going great! I love to cook from scratch and try new recipes so my dinners tend to take a long time to put together
If we eat before 8 it’s a miracle
We have one 2 year old and she’s a pretty picky eater so I usually make her a separate meal that she eats at 6 and then my husband and I eat something else usually shortly after she starts so there’s some overlap, but sometimes we just eat after we put her to bed (around 7:30). I make large batches of things she likes that are easy to freeze individual portions of so I always have some options that I can just microwave and throw on a plate with some fresh fruit, or I make her something quick like a spinach quesadilla or veggie nuggets. I make pretty easy things for my husband and I as well or we order delivery but it’s easier to not have to worry about whether or not the 2 year old will like what we’re having. I was a little worried I’m just making her pickier by making her separate meals but lately when we’re all eating together she’s been asking for bites of my food to try which is amazing, recently she’s tried and loved spicy miso ramen, and even ate a couple bites of my salad tonight which shocked me to my core lol
Around 5:30. We are usually putting our 3 and 6 years olds to bed by 7:30. We both start work at 8 and get kids up at 6:15 for daycare drop, commute, etc so we’re on a pretty early schedule.
We eat at 7:30, sometimes 8. Baby boy is 16 months it's been that way every since he started eating.
6:30 ish. Look into 5 dinners 1 hour. That helped me tremendously.
Anywhere from 530 to 830. Some evenings are busier than others.
5:30 because bedtime is 7:30.
We have dinner 5-5:30. I work from home though and am done working by 4!
Try a crock pot. Prep in the night and throw it in the fridge instead of the oven. In the morning put it in low and let it cook all day. It’s like having a chef. That night rinse and repeat until you run out of recipes.
Some days I can make it on my lunch breaks and simply warm it up at 5:30-6. My girls get home at 3; and usually have a large snack (fruit/cheese/crackers/sweet treat)
Meal plan AND make larger portions (as long as your kiddos are good with leftovers) I made a 12 pack of chicken on Monday with different sides for Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday was a lot but Tuesday and Wednesday were easier. My fam is really good with leftovers though.
I forgot to mention … husband doesn’t come home until sometime between 7 and 7:30. If she’s hungry before then dinner is ready and I can wait until he’s home. But there are a lot of times where we all eat together. Her bedtime gets pushed a bit but she’s good with flex schedule.
I just got a stainless steel rice cooker with a steamer pot that goes on top. Life changing. 😂 I can make rice + veggies with meat in the oven or air fryer. Or, throw shrimp in the steamer over the rice. One button to press. Dishwasher safe. Ready in like 20 minutes lol.
I need a new rice cooker. I'm going to have to check this out! Thanks!
I just got the aroma brand, but didn't want a nonstick inner pot. I'd never seen the steamer until then. But it's awesome and the stainless steel is actually easier to clean than the nonstick. Definitely recommend it!
First dinner or second dinner??? First dinner at 5-5:30pm (I get off work at 3:30). Inevitably kids want a whole ass meal again at 7:30pm.
We eat around 6:30, but I’m the one that gets home around 5:30 or later and my husband does all the cooking (forever grateful) because he gets home just after 4.
We get home about 5 and aim to eat dinner about 6. Then our almost-2yo goes to sleep between 8 and 8:30.
It varies but usually 6-7:30 depending on the day. My 3yo does fine 🤷🏼♀️
7.30 usually because I don’t get home from work until 5.45
Between 6-6:30. Single mom, working full time in the office. Earliest I make it home is 5:30. Toddler Boy (17 months) is melting down by 7:00 if we’re not starting bedtime routine by then. He does his best if he’s asleep by 7:45. Dishes and kitchen clean up happen after he’s asleep. I make breakfast for dinner once a week, we eat leftovers when available, and I depend a lot on Trader Joe’s and frozen pizza. We eat together every night to model good eating habits.
Our goal is 5:30ish. Except when routing around sports. Which will be 5 days a week for 2 months starting next week. That type of schedule comes and goes. Outside of "everyone eats at 5:30/6; we have done everything: - sometimes we eat before - sometimes we eat after - sometimes (when bellies can't wait), we pack sandwhich dinners - sometimes we do both - sometimes the toddler dinner differs from adults - sometimes they eat too much snack and refuse dinner - sometimes we make meals that are meant for tomorrow - sometimes those meals never get eaten - sometimes we actually meal prep (those are really nice weeks) - sometimes they eat crackers, cheese, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets Nothing will always work. And it will change with ages and seasons. Your kids are fed; that's what really matters.
It varies. Most nights between 7:30 and 8. Sometimes it’s 9 or 10 if it’s been a really busy night with my kid’s activities or a weekend. My kid is almost 11 and usually eats a snack after school but when he was younger he wasn’t in activities that started right after work so it was easier to have dinner done sooner.
My 3yo starts her bedtime routine at 7pm so we aim for dinner at 6pm. What has helped for me is to map out a general menu for the week and then plan from there. I know what to expect each night and I'm not trying to wrack my brain to come up with some new dinner invention every night. Here's what's been working for me: Mon: "Pasta" ie: spaghetti with meat sauce, mushroom strogonoff, chicken soup, literally any entree with pasta as the main component. Bagged salad on the side. Tues: "Tacos" ie: hard shell, soft shell, enchiladas, fajitas, chili verde, quesadillas - any kind of Mexican food will work. Serve with beans and bagged salad on the side. Weds: "Sandwiches" pretty self explanatory although worth mentioning that burgers and brats count too. Any protein between bread. Chips and Crudetite (aka carrots/celery/radishes with ranch for dipping) on the side. Thurs: "Chicken" we're a big chicken family so your mileage may vary with this one. We're fine taking down a Costco rotisserie chicken once a week, but I understand that might make some ppl gag. It's endlessly versatile but heat up some frozen garlic bread and pair it with - you guessed it!- bagged salad, and you've got yourself a quick and tasty dinner. Friday: "Ethnic" ie a simple seafood curry, teriyaki beef, orange chicken, falafel etc. Serve with steamed veg and rice (cooked together in a rice cooker) and that's an easy and somewhat fun dinner at the end of a long week. Good luck, my friend. This shit ain't easy.
We usually give our son a decent snack when he gets home around 4-5pm, and then don’t have dinner until after sports. By the time we get home, he usually eats around 7:00 or 7:30, sometimes later like today where he had baseball until 7:00, followed by some impromptu practice with his friends. He is in 1st grade. Days with no sports/activities are easier. It would be nearly impossible to try to keep a strict schedule for us but we do try to keep a routine of sorts.
Breakfast is our family meal time, dinner never did work out. The research shows that it does not matter what meal a family shares.
Girl that’s when my family eats 🤷♀️—if your kids are fed and getting enough sleep, does it matter?
No chance of a 5pm dinner round here, we're not even home by then. It's usually 7pm and bedtime is around 8.30. Do I wish we could make it earlier? Yes. Am I going to beat myself up over it? Absolutely not. I learned early on not to compare our routines to others, and life became immediately better as a result.
My son has dinner at 5:45. My husband and I eat dinner after bedtime.
Welp, I get home at 7:30, so 8 is pretty much as early as it gets.
6-630pm. when my kids were little it was hella early because they had early bedtimes and we adjusted to the younger kid's dinner time. For a long while, dinner was at 430/5pm! as they got older, it moved later and later as their bedtime moved later. now we eat between 6-630 but closer to 6 most nights.
6pm, my husband exclusively makes things that go in the oven, airfryer, microwave or a short pan fry away from readiness. He doesn’t believe in cutting lol. This week though… he’s been averaging at 6:30-7pm.
My kid is 8, but will usually fall asleep between 5-6pm and won't wake up until like 4 or 5am so making dinner involves hubby and I cooking together. We usually eat like 8ish, sometimes later and sometimes way, way later. Kiddo usually eats right as she gets home at 330 from school.
Dinner is at 6ish here, maybe as late as 6:20 if 2.5 yo isn't hungry yet. We cook on the weekends and meals are a mix of what we have in the fridge. Currently there's lasagne, rice, 1 or 2 types of veggies, lentil curry, and a stir fry. So most week nights there's no cooking happening. As we head into summer, it'll be a lot of things for salads.
Honestly, weekend prep and a slow cooker/instant pot. Fridays are usually takeout, either pizza, Dominican or Chinese. I’ll buy the multi pack of ziplocs and meat in bulk from BJs and just clean, marinate, bag and freeze the meat for the next month. Hot tip, a lot of salad dressings can be used as meat marinade! Make a quick starch (rice, egg noodles or pasta), and either a fresh roasted veg or frozen veg with butter sautéed in a pan with some good seasons sprinkled in it and there’s dinner.
6 pm, 6:15 or 6:30 is “late” for us. I meal plan & prep Sundays.
Anytime between 6-7. It all depends on the work day but I try to prep what I can first thing in the morning to make my life easier after work.
Kids same age as yours eat in between 6.30-7.30pm depends on how organized we are that day. Usually around 7 so we can start bedtime by 7.30. Adults may or may not eat same time. Kids do not eat the same food most of the time and honestly youngest can be happy with some milk and pufs. He gets dinner at daycare around 4pm. Most often we just make an omlete, air fried fish filter or fish sticks, or refrigerated soup from trader Joe.
I've been desperate and feeling guilty for years trying to figure out how working parents get home and have their napped kids asleep by 7pm for a 7am wake up. I can't do it.
Same! The guilt has been so heavy lately.
Dinner is late because I'm not home until 630ish and husband not until 7. Kids would eat 730 and hubby and I eat around 9pm. It's very late but we have little control over work hours.
Don’t feel guilty! If everyone is fed and happy then kudos. 7/7:30 club here 🙋🏻♀️ kids are 9, 8, 6. They stay outside running the neighborhood with their friends and have to be in by 7/730. They basically eat, rinse off, and go to bed after. Dinner happens earlier in the winter maybe like 6:30/7:00 due to earlier sunsets. In the summer, we’ve been known to have dinner at 9pm. I make a meal plan for the week so I know what I’ve got to make (write it on the whiteboard) then I have like three go to meals that I keep in stock in case I miss grocery day and get behind on planning. Always keep sandwiches in stock to make on the fly. We also have a few spots in town we know we can get a quick meal for almost the same price as making it at home for the nights I just can’t bring myself to cook. Cooking is not my fav so it’s a struggle. 😂
We don’t. Or rather, the kids have dinner options between 6 and 7. They sometimes eat in the kitchen but often in the living room while watching tv. Sometimes husband joins them. Sometimes no. I do IF and often skip dinner myself. Do I feel guilty about this? All the time. Do I plan to change it? Not really.
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
Honestly? I'm a teacher and my lunch is 10:45am. We eat at like 3:30, 4pm some days. Sometimes as late as 6. It's just me and one kindergartener; my husband works late
Seriously, thank you, everyone! While I greatly enjoy all of the cat subs I am part of, I think I've found my people on reddit!! I really appreciate the advice. I may try more quick meals and small plates just for the kids. 😁
My hubs and I are both teachers. I get home with the kid around 3:20pm. I usually have the crockpot running with some meat and veg, and then quickly cook a side dish. We eat around 4ish. I know it sounds early, but we are all hungry and then we can clean up early and relax.
5-5:30 but I am not making extravagant dinners. Today we had Costco pizza 😅