End of the day

[Thia]

But before dinner time. So primarily from about 3:30 until dh gets home between 5 and 6. It's like the kids and I are tired of each other or something. They seem to act out the most. I have this in this forum b/c my kids are 2.5 and 11 mo. Now, the 11 mo old is too young to really know any better. His deal is that he doesn't nap enough, so he gets over tired. Plus, he takes "abuse" from dd who picks on him more between this time than any other. Dd, she seems to act out more during this time. During this time, I can be heard to say " leave your brother alone" "don't climb on me like that" "stop pulling on my clothes" "don't touch that"
One option would be to not let her watch her cartoons in the morning and let her watch them during this time. I can't focus on her one on one, I have to get the house ready for dh to come home and start dinner. I try to have her with me, make her help with things, but she won't cooperate no matter how much fun I try to make it. Anyone have any insight? Forgive my lack of spell check, but it is getting crazy here...

[klpmommy]

TV at that time could help. What about a snack as well (for both you & the kids)? I know that both of my kids do better if they have a mid afternoon snack & some mommy time in the late afternoon, but I also use tv as my sanity saver a lot of days.

I call that block of time the "witching hour". I do my best to avoid phone calls, errands or anything stressful then b/c w/o fail it is a horrible time of day.

[mom2threegirls]

I utilize the tv at that time a lot :O. Little one is usually sleeping and the big ones get to have their tv/computer time then and it usually helps me stay sane :shifty. When it is cooler out they like to play outside that time of day too.

[mybodymyself]

:popcorn

[Carmen]

We call that twpotd (the worst part of the day). It's like she knows it's almost time for daddy to come home, I'm trying to get supper together, Tot is naturally grumpy that time of day. I will readily admit that I turn to tv too often and let her watch Clifford while I get things together. I have been known to strip her down and let her fingerpaint, that usually keeps her occupied for a while. She loves to color, so sometimes I will try to get her to color near me. How about a toy specifically for that part of the day? The easiest right now would be for her to be outside, but I can't do that because she's just too little.

The hardest part of it is getting supper ready, so I try to get chopping and pans, bowls, plates, etc pulled out during nap time. Crock pots are great too, you don't have to worry, just plate it up when dh gets home.

[TuneMyHeart]

That's Ellie's worst time of day too. Ellie would be much happer eating dinner earlier, but we wait for hubby to get home. By then, she's grumpy, tired, and hungry, and I'm frustrated, tired of her fussing, and desperately trying to get dinner ready. :crazy Sometimes the only thing that helps is opening the back door (we have a screened porch) and letting her play out there while I cook. When she was younger, sometimes she would tolerate the exersaucer out on the porch while I cooked (although she only liked it once in a while :rolleyes).

[Thia]

Thanks for the suggestions. At least I know I am not the only one. The next few days we have my parents up, so I won't get to test these ideas until next week.

[puah]

:hug2
ooooh, i could have written your post just months ago. what helped me solve it was figuring out why i dreaded those hours so much and what might make them enjoyable for all of us. i still don't always follow my own advice, but when i do, it makes a WORLD of difference! I did more planning so i would be free for my kids that time of day and then i figured out what we could do together.

1. have weekly meal plan so i know what i need to do for dinner. i also double almost every meal i make so i only have to cook half the time, freezing the other half for another week.

2. do most of dinner prep during the times the kids are either most content without much from me, or when they want to help, which for us, means the morning usually. sometimes by lunch time most of the dinner prep is done so that all i have to do later is pop it in the oven or stir fry it or reheat.

3. have 30-60 mins of rest time (ie SPACE) before the dreaded hours arrive, then a snack

4. now that i'm free during 'the witching hour' i still needed something enjoyable to do, and that varies. lately we've been doing craft stuff together, nothing elaborate, just cutting and pasting, stickers, etc. sometimes we do play-doh, or i play their pretend things with them, giving my full attention. your kids are younger and at that age i still often did gluing or fingerpaints, shaving cream in the tub, or pull out a toy we hadn't played with yet that day. after a leisurely snack time together I try to give them a good focused hour of my time and then finish up dinner (i try to have it down to just 30 mins to get it on the table from my prep earlier in the day). play well after my time with them, other days they do computer or a video. again with your kids being younger, i usually tried to get dd into something and i often wore my 1yo while i finished making dinner.

I actually look forward to this time when i follow my ideas...THANKS for the reminder to actually do this :P~