My daughter has just started school, and understandably is very tired by the time she gets home. I pick her up once or twice most weeks, and it's about 4.30pm by the time we get back on the bus. Her bedtime is generally around 7pm, and she is usually out within five minutes after a day at school, so I don't think I want to be sending her to bed later, but school nights feel like a bit of a marathon at the moment.
To break our school night down: I pick her up at 3.40pm, our bus leaves around 4pm, we get back for 4.30pm. I'm then giving her a super quick shower as although her mum says she's been bathed, her hair has looked a bit greasy, I then get her into her pyjamas, I'm putting a quick dinner on at 4.50pm, and we are eating by 5.10pm, finishing by about 5.30pm. We then do homework for 10-15 mins, and then my daughter does what she wants to do until 6.30pm and she has some milk. By the time she has cleaned her teeth, gone to the toilet, and we've done a bedtime story and everything else (she likes me to make up a story about a princess with the same name as her, and then insists I use her toy wand to magic the 'nightmare monsters' away), it's 7pm.
I'm basically wondering if this is normal for a young child (she's 4 and a half), and whether anyone does anything differently that works for them. I feel like it's a race against the clock, and worry that my daughter feels the pressure of that too, or does it only feel like that for the parent?
Hi There,
.
By the sounds of things you are a good routine, it may be tight, but in reality weekday evenings are generally that way for most families, you are getting quality time with her and you are telling her a bedtime story, In my mind, you have a good balance.
.
GTTS
Thanks for your reply. I think I was just worrying the other night. I'm feeling a lot more confident about it now.
would you consider raising her bedtime to 730? see how she copes?
I have been considering it. The reason I'm so keen to get her in bed for 7pm at the moment is because she has a lot of late nights with Mummy and often comes to me knackered and need of catching up on sleep.. She seems to get a bit of respite with me.