Need Help with Dinner Schedule

Hi J., Definitely try giving him a snack to hold him over until dinner time so he can eat with you guys! It's a great ritual to have! My 20mo old daughter gets a snack at 4:30p and dinner is at 7p, that's been working for us for the longest time. Good Luck and enjoy eating as a family!

Hi J.,
I would recommend not making 2 dinners. It is important for families to eat togeher and it is important to set the president that everyone eats the same food. You are a mother and wife not a short order cook.

My husband gets home around 6:30/7 also and I have a 31 month and 14 month old. I serve them breakfast at 9am,
lunch at 12pm (whatever I eat), a snack at 3pm usually a carbohydrate to keep then full till dinner like a banana or english muffin or 100 calorie chip bag, then we all eat the same dinner at 6:30/7pm. bath at 7:30, bed by 8pm no later.
Having them eat at that hour also helps them stay asleep all night :)

I hope my schedule helps you.

My husband gets home at 5:45 and we are sitting down together as a family eating dinner by 6. I see your dilemma since your husband does get home a bit later. Eating that late for your baby may be too long of a stretch for your son to wait. Maybe you could introduce a late afternoon snack by say, 3 P.M. of perhaps a cup of yogurt or sliced fruit until dinner time at 6:30. I would encourage you to make family time truly a "family time" for everyone.

I have an almost 3 year old and a 6 month old and our afternoon/dinner schedule is as follows:

4pm milk & snack for my oldest, nurse the baby.

6:30 pm Dinner for myself, hubby & oldest. The baby sits in her high chair and we feed her baby food. My 3 year old eats the same dinner we do. We try to eat healthy so she does as well. Example last night: grilled chicken, baked potato slices & steamed veggies. Good for all!! I definitely don't believe in cooking 2 dinners.

After dinner, the baby gets a bath, nurse and down for the night around 7pm. My oldest plays with daddy while I bathe the baby, then she gets her bath and is in bed by 8:30.

I think it's important that we all eat together as a family and I've tried to coordinate our schedules to accomodate it. If you can, I would recommend it.

well my hubby had swing shifts when my first one was little so when he worked evenings we all ate lunch together. then my son and i had dinner together. the when he worked days he was home by 4 ish so we all ate dinner together.

when my second son was born my huuby at first woked evenings so wew had lunch together. then he went to days so we had dinner together. then he was back on evenings so we all had lunch together then.

i know schedules get hectic but if you could all eat the same thing at the same time it would be nice. what if yuou give him a snack earlier and then when hgubby gets home you all eat together as a family.i would try that.

i have the exact same problem. i've been feeding mine a decent snack of fruit and some cheerios around 5ish, and then taking her out of the chair even though i'm sure she'd eat more if given the opportunity. but since i pull her out, she seems content enough with the little food and able to hold off for another hour and half until time for dinner with the family.

Is it possible to switch the two and give him a snack at 5/530 and then let him eat dinner with you two. He's too young to wait till 630/700 to eat, so for a little bit you will have to feed him twice. It's normal for a child even as old as 4 and 5 to need a snack to tide them over till dinner, so if you can get him into that routine, you might be better off.

Maybe you could just give your son a snack at his normal 5ish dinner time, then sit him down with the whole family at the 6/7ish dinner time to eat a bigger meal.

You'll eventually go insane making two meals. I did that, too. My husband didn't come home at regular hours, and it became too late for me and or the kids to not eat and try waiting for him. I left him a warm plate in the oven or whatever salad/cold plate in the fridge.
It's nice to perhaps plan a weekend "family Dinner" where you all sit together and have a relaxed event, either lunch or dinner, a picnic in the backyard or in the living room.
But to go through this hassle (when the child will eventually grow out of his naps and early bedtime) is exhausting. Good luck
Blessings, S.

Hi J..
First let me say our household is probably a-typical in that dinner time at our house isn't the same every day (neither the time nor the participants), and we're okay with it. My kids have grown up this way, and it is "normal" for them. My husband works odd hours and is never home at the same time every day. In fact, 2 days a week, he doesn't get home until our kids are long since in bed (I'm talking 11:30 pm). So, we just accommodate the best we can. When he is home by 6:30, we usually eat together. When he is not (he eats dinner at work), the kids eat at a "normal" time without him. But due to after school activities, sometimes they are eating at 7:00 or 7:30. It just all depends. My kids are older (8 & 11) but it has ALWAYS been like this due to my husband's job.
So, realize that "normal" dinnertime, is what is normal for your household, and don't set up some "June Cleaver" example of perfection as the scale you use to grade yourself.

When our kids were little, before they were school age, I tried to make "lunches" more of a family mealtime on days when my husband would not be home for dinner. Maybe if you want to have "family" mealtime, you can make it lunch or breakfast with you and baby. Or just incorporate it into weekend meals, when everyone can participate. The rest of the time, do whatever works for you. Lots of people intentionally feed their kids first, so that they can enjoy their meal with their husband, without the kids making it a hassle. Do you have a warming drawer in your stove? They are great for keeping things just right, without that "reheated" or "warmed over" feel. Or make a meal in a crockpot. Those are "fresh" whenever you serve it...

Just don't set yourself up to be constantly judging yourself over this issue. In my experience, having a "groove" with only one child and me at home was next to impossible. It wasn't until we had #2 that you could call anything a "groove". When it is just the 2 of you, flexibility is the name of the game... take advantage of it.

If you want to push back his dinner, you could offer some healthy snacks to tide him over.. but then you will be wreaking havoc with bedtime. So unless you plan to alter bedtime too (never a good idea if what you are doing is working well) then I would just feed him first and be done with it. If you want him to sit with you and your husband, that's okay, but he doesn't NEED to eat to enjoy your company. If you choose to feed him a 2nd meal that's okay too. When he is older and can wait later for dinner, then he will merge into the routine without you having to explain that "we only eat dinner once". But, unless your husband can get home earlier to eat, then you won't be having weeknight family dinners for a while... it's not until kids are closer to 7, 8 and 9 years that they can stay up late enough to wait until 7:00 to eat. They simply need to go to bed/sleep too soon after to be eating that late, imho.

Oh, one other idea: If you are looking for ideas that will "keep" from 5:15 until hubby gets home for dinner... try out a salad. Kids love the veggies: cucumber, red bell pepper, black olives, romaine, carrot sticks (with ranch to dip?) and you can put cut up chicken breasts or whatever right on top. My husband loves salads like that for dinner.

Hi There! you are already having a family dinner! the important thing at this age is that they know the family dinner routine and the details of what they are eating is not important.

we had the same issue and since my daughter goes to bed at 7/7:30...eating her whole dinner with us at the later hour was not good for her.

Since breakfast/lunch are our biggest meals, i break her dinner up into 2 small bites. At 5 she eats her veggies (piece of cake to steam some veggies - get the microwave steamer bags in the ziploc section). She eats in the kitchen and loves hangs out with me while i cook. then at dinner time she gets a sampling of what we were eating. I also save the leftovers to incorporate into lunch the next day. For me this took the pressure off trying to schedule perfectly, elimiates the burden of cooking two meals, and keeps my daughter involved in the ritual and not too full to sleep ok. As she gets older and her bedtime gets later...we'll all eventually catch up...it goes by quickly!

hi there
I have the same issue as my husband comes home late many nights... or passed dinner time.
but this is what i do I hope it helps give an idea..

{I have a steamer.. where I steam broc w/cheese or peas & corn.. or I make wheat pasta with chopped veggies, cheese and marinara.(i alternate between lunch and dinner)}}

I feed breakfast and lunch at 123o or 3 after nap time.
around 5 give snack.. cracker milk pretzel, apple, blueberries, grapes..etc
Before dad gets home we do bath time.. and then eat with dad at 7 or 730pm.. then its 2 hours of play and reading.. before bedtime.. she goes down around ###-###-#### as this allows her to sleep until 4 or 5 am.. and sometimes later.
I usually give another snack before bedtime.. small peice of banana.. if she wants it.. and this fills her up.

Hope this helps.. This is the best age.. so fun!!

Hi J.,
I had a similar situation and just gradually moved our children's (we have 4) dinner later and later until we we all on the same schedule and the kids could wait until my husband got home and we would all eat together. Maybe you could try that. Take care!
V.

Hi J. - My daughter is also 15 month and had that same problem a few months ago. She goes to bed at 8:00 so I decided to work with her schedule a bit. What I started to do is give her a snack around 4:00 (yogurt, fruit or a slice of cheese) and then eat dinner when my husband gets home at 6:30. Then after dinner, around 7:00 my husband gives her a bath and I clean up dinner. By 7:30 we all watch her favorite show (Little Einsteins) and she is relaxed and ready for bed at 8:00. This way we get to eat as a family and then spend a little time cuddling on the couch. Good luck!

Why does your son have to eat at 5:30? If that is what he is used to try pushing the time back in 15 minute incriments over a couple of days, until he is on your schedule Then he will get used to it and can eat with the rest of the family, which he will probably enjoy. Also try distracting him during these time delays so he doesn't think about being hungry. maybe push lunch a bit later too to tide him over... hope this helps and then you don't have to cook twice.