We have made it past the first week of school and are adjusting to lots of new things. New routines, new nanny, new activities, everybody on the bus… It has been very exciting to say the least but also brought some chaos.
I remember when my first born was a few weeks old, there were periods of time (maybe 5-7 pm or something like that) where nothing we did was helpful to soothe her for more than a few minutes. We would rock her, hold her, spin her, sit on the big bouncy ball, only to hear her crying shortly after doing any activity. And then magically, she would calm down. Luckily, this type of witching hour went away after 8 weeks.
Now that my kids are 7 and 5 years old, I am noticing that they also have a “witching period”. I am noticing it more now because there have been many transitions but I will say that this has happened before.
Today was no exception and maybe worse than usual, so it got me thinking to the times when I successfully navigate the 5-630 pm time period when they decide that running around the house screaming, jumping on the furniture, and dumping all the boxes full of cars and Legos while using any stick-shaped toy as a weapon is a good idea.
Here are some ideas that have occasionally worked for me. Feel free to share any of your success stories!!
- Kinetic sand. As much as I hate things that make a mess, kinetic sand done properly is a life saver. I set them up on the kitchen table while prepping dinner and give them disposable plates to play on with a plastic tablecloth underneath.
- Get them involved in dinner. They love helping me make couscous and spaghetti and anything that involves pushing microwave buttons. My oldest also likes making fruit salads and cutting berries with plastic knives, which takes up a lot of time and focus! She also likes to skewer fruits on toothpicks.
- Snacks. Don’t forget to give them snacks – the closer to 5 pm the better, so they are still hungry for dinner. Having them pick a snack and look for it helps kill some time as well.
- Arts or crafts. I always keep little “prizes” from the dollar store or Michaels that I can pull out when needed. Highly recommend stocking up on these.
- Screen time. When all else fails, TV or tablet time can help. It is better for everybody to have quiet time for 30 minutes while I put the dinner together than to give myself grief about a little bit of screen time. Happy wife, happy life but happy mom, happy everybody else!!
The end of the day is always tough after they have been in school all day, especially if you have high energy kids like ours. Planning ahead for pre-and-post dinner activities can help calm their nervous system down and also get their energy out with some post-dinner bike rides or basketball playing. Comment below with any suggestions!