If you work 8-5

[linz]

I currently work 7-330. I'm starting to job hunt and some places advertise that it's an 8-5 position. I know some companies are flexible but I have worked at a place where everyone worked 8-5.  I'd like to avoid these hours but just starting to think ahead if I have to.

My question is, do you feel like you barely see your kids when you get home?

Also, do you feed your kids breakfast before daycare or do they eat it there? Right now they wake around 730 and get a bottle, then breakfast around 9 (not at daycare, family watches them at home but they'll be starting daycare when they turn 1).

[jeaniebueller]

Well...I work 8-4:30, so can I play too? I do not feed my DD before daycare, daycare feeds her breakfast. If your DCP will feed them, take advantage of that for sure. We get home for the day between 5 and 5:30. DD goes to bed between 7 and 7:30 (if DS doesn't have an activity), DS goes to bed between 8 and 8:30. When DD was younger, it was more difficult but now that she is a toddler, obviously I wish I had more time with her, but....its not that bad. I have friends who work until 5:30, 6 or later, so I actually consider myself lucky.

[thebreakfastclub]

I always worked 8-5. DS ate a small breakfast at home (yogurt and a banana) before his day care breakfast. He likes to eat. Bedtime has historically been 8pm (now closer to 9), so I feel like we have enough time. Maybe too much time, lol.

[dottyblue]

I have worked 8:30-5:30 for years. I always feed DS before work/daycare because he wakes up demanding it. He then goes to daycare and has second breakfast, LOL. Daycare knows he has already eaten and just lets him have what he wants; they know not to push food.

When DS was under 18 months, yes, I felt like I didn't see him during the week because he was going to bed around 6/6:30. Bedtime has moved later as he has gotten older and at 7:30 now, we have a couple of hours together. We maximize our weekends.

The biggest challenge for me has been meal planning. We have 1.5 hours from the time we get home until he goes to bed and we have to do dinner somehow.

[niq]

msniq & I effectively work 8/8:30-5. On good days we're both home by 5:30, but normally it's closer to 5:30-6. Basically we have time for dinner, maybe a little bit of playtime, bathtime every other night, and then bedtime stories. V goes to sleep about 7:30-7:45.

Usually we give V a mini-breakfast that we can do quickly. We brush his teeth in the high chair, so it kills 2 birds with one stone. DC serves a bigger breakfast at 8:30.

We both have bosses/work environments that are somewhat family friendly, so if one of us has to leave early (daycare closure, kid is sick, whatever) it's not world-ending. I'm trying to get better at WFHing effectively so I can leave closer to 4:30 and do a little bit of work after he goes to sleep.

[Deleted]

Jul 29, 2015 8:29:57 GMT -5 @this said:

I work 7:30 to 4:30 or 5 so close enough?

I get DD ready for daycare and then we give her a yogurt or something before H brings her to school. She has real breakfast there.

We're home by 5-5:30 and she goes to bed at 7:30-8. Honestly, I LOVE it. lol. It's the perfect amount of time that I really enjoy her and we have time to go to dinner, run some errands if we need to, go to the pool some nights, etc. Then I have plenty of time to decompress after she goes to bed too.

This word for word.


Getting home at 5 we play outside/go for a bike ride or do some kind of activity, then inside to eat at 6:30pm, then hang out with DH. Bath at 8 bed at 8:30. 


By 8:30 I am ready for them to go to sleep and be alone. LOL. 



This all changes during baseball season but on nights that we are home, this is our routine. 

[sunshine608]

I work 8-5. DS gets a pouch and sometimes BM before we leave in the morning. He gets formal breakfast at my mom's/MIL.

I get off at 5, pick him up at 5:20/5:30 and am home by 6:15 depending on traffic. I feel like I see and enjoy him if I don't have to cook. If I cook- It's done around 7:00/7:15, we eat and then by that time it's bath time and then bed time ( 8:00-8:30) and things are so hectic it sucks. I try and have leftover/crockpot meals or I pick up something before I get him to make it easier.

ETA: Yesterday I got off at 4 and it make a huge difference. I contemplated switching my hours. Traffic was significantly lighter ( which mad a huge difference) and I just had way more time. I was home before 5 and I stayed at MIL's a lot longer than I usually do!

[Deleted]

Dh does pick up and works until 5. I do dropoff and work 8-4:30 then come home and cook dinner. DD comes home at 6 and goes to bed at 8. It goes really fast in the evenings. We are strictly routine with very little extras. Usually one of use plays with her until 6:30. Then we eat until 7. Then either bathtime or a family walk until 7:30 and then books and bed. We do not divert from this. I sometimes wish we had more time but it is what it is. In the mornings I wake her up, get her dressed and run out of the house. She eats a first breakfast at daycare at 7am which is fruit and maybe an english muffin and then they have school breakfast at 9. She spends close to 11 hours a day at school. That sounds horrible writing it out but she does love it. I am very happy with where we have her so I wouldnt really change anything. On fridays I get her at 4:30 and it seems like we have so much time together.

[linz]

Jul 29, 2015 8:31:28 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

The biggest challenge for me has been meal planning. We have 1.5 hours from the time we get home until he goes to bed and we have to do dinner somehow.

Yes I'm starting to hit that point. As much as I want them on table food its making me realize I need to actually make dinner at a normal time. I try to plan a few meals out but have trouble finding the time to actually cook. They are starting to get better about playing or I can sit them in their high chair while I cook.

[dottyblue]

Jul 29, 2015 8:38:40 GMT -5 linz said:

Jul 29, 2015 8:31:28 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

The biggest challenge for me has been meal planning. We have 1.5 hours from the time we get home until he goes to bed and we have to do dinner somehow.

Yes I'm starting to hit that point. As much as I want them on table food its making me realize I need to actually make dinner at a normal time. I try to plan a few meals out but have trouble finding the time to actually cook. They are starting to get better about playing or I can sit them in their high chair while I cook.

DS is almost 3 and I still don't have this down... so yeah... I feel your pain.  I just HATE giving up some of our precious weekend time to prep meals for the week.  It's challenging.

[Brie]

I work roughly 8-5. I leave the house at 7:30, and usually take a shorter lunch and leave around 4:45.

C eats breakfast at daycare. Once he turned one and went to the toddler class, it became sort of a thing where they all sit down and eat together. I like that it teaches table manners, sharing, staying at the table while you eat, etc rather than us rushing around to feed him in the morning before school. When he was little he'd nurse in the mornings (and P gets a bottle first thing now) but usually he's fine until then. If he's particularly ravenous we give him a cup of Cheerios or something for the ride.

I feel like I see my kids plenty. I mean, C is almost 3 now and is a well adjusted, happy kid who loves going to school AND is excited to see me when I pick him up. It's working for us. I feel like our time together during the week is more about quality than quantity--we only get a few hours together so I'm fully present during those rather than half-assing all day long (which is what I'd do if I SAH, I know myself).

[jeaniebueller]

Jul 29, 2015 8:38:40 GMT -5 linz said:

Jul 29, 2015 8:31:28 GMT -5 dottyblue said:

The biggest challenge for me has been meal planning. We have 1.5 hours from the time we get home until he goes to bed and we have to do dinner somehow.

Yes I'm starting to hit that point. As much as I want them on table food its making me realize I need to actually make dinner at a normal time. I try to plan a few meals out but have trouble finding the time to actually cook. They are starting to get better about playing or I can sit them in their high chair while I cook.

Generally, DD and DS want to eat the second we walk in the door, so they usually eat convenience foods or snacky meals that I can throw together. H and I usually eat later, after DD is in bed. Its not ideal, but I am not stressing it.

Also, I want to fist bump all of you who says its more than enough time. I almost said that, but thought someone would make me feel guilty. There are some days when I am counting down the minutes until 7pm. lol

[CrazyLucky]

We feed the kids at home and they get a second meal at daycare! Piggies. Once DS starts school in August, he will miss that second breakfast.
But yes, I do feel like we barely see the kids at night. We generally get home around 6. Then it's a mad dash of dinner, bath, story time. We try to have some time for playing too, but it doesn't always happen. In the winter, we can do baths every other night, but not right now.

[quickstepstar]

I work 8:30-5, but I have a ridiculous commute for now (2 hours 1 way). We are moving in 3 weeks and it will be only 20 min. But yeah, before I switched jobs (same hours), I would eat with the kids, and drop off at school. We have a sitter in the afternoons, so at night I would spend some time with all 3. My little one goes to bed at 7 and my older girls go to bed later, so we stagger bed times. The older two go to bed at 8:15 and at 9:30.

ETA Most of my team works 10:30-6:30/7, so I feel like I leave so early!! I cannot imagine leaving any earlier than I do now!

[Purple]

I work 9-5, commute 30 mins to pick up at daycare and we are home by 6pm. We eat shortly after. Husband gets home at 6:30, play a little then up for bath at 7:30 and in bed 8-8:30pm. At first I felt like there wasn't enough time spent with her, but now I think it's ok. I am also job searching and a lot of jobs here in my field at 8-6 which I won't do. I'm staying put until I can find either a job with a shorter commute or the same hours I currently have.

ETA: Our daycare does breakfast at 8:30 (which is when she gets there), but sometimes my daughter wants something before it's time to go so I'll give her milk and dry cheerios in a snack catcher thing.

[linz]

Jul 29, 2015 8:44:37 GMT -5 jeaniebueller said:

Jul 29, 2015 8:38:40 GMT -5 linz said:

Yes I'm starting to hit that point. As much as I want them on table food its making me realize I need to actually make dinner at a normal time. I try to plan a few meals out but have trouble finding the time to actually cook. They are starting to get better about playing or I can sit them in their high chair while I cook.

Generally, DD and DS want to eat the second we walk in the door, so they usually eat convenience foods or snacky meals that I can throw together. H and I usually eat later, after DD is in bed. Its not ideal, but I am not stressing it.

Also, I want to fist bump all of you who says its more than enough time. I almost said that, but thought someone would make me feel guilty. There are some days when I am counting down the minutes until 7pm. lol

lol After I started reading responses I was thinking, duh a couple hours is MORE then enough time. I don't do much in the evenings anyway. If I have errands it's on my days off. The more I think about it this schedule wouldn't be horrible. And I forgot H is off at 4 so he can do pick ups. Our daycare is in our neighborhood so whoever is home first would get them.

[thebreakfastclub]

I find it helps to have some ready made dinners handy for my son. I might make turkey meatballs on a Sunday, to have frozen. His dinner might be 2 meatballs, some cheese and fruit. I can't do a big dinner most nights.

[Purple]

Jul 29, 2015 8:51:28 GMT -5 thebreakfastclub said:

I find it helps to have some ready made dinners handy for my son. I might make turkey meatballs on a Sunday, to have frozen. His dinner might be 2 meatballs, some cheese and fruit. I can't do a big dinner most nights.

agree 100%

[Ashley&Scott]

M doesn't go to sleep until 9pm at the very earliest, usually it's 9:45 or 10pm so we see him at least 4 hours in the evenings. 

He eats at home now, but until age 3 he ate at daycare. It was part of DH's drop off routine. Get to school, help him eat, wash up, hugs & goodbye. (In his current classroom they have to eat in the lunchroom, which is why we switched the routine.)

[hocus2]

My kids are older so I think things are different for me than it would be with babies/toddlers.

I drop off my oldest kid and return for work around 8:30. I leave to pick up the kids at 5:15 ish. I sometimes work earlier and after the kids are in bed because I need to put in about 42-46 hours in every week and I can't quite do that during the day.

I feel like I see the kids plenty but that the quality of my time with them isn't great. The best time is often my walk to school with my oldest. It is a long walk and we have 20 mins or so to chat or just be together in a companionable silence. After pick up things are pretty crazy. There is homework, diner, baths, playtime, bedtime etc to get to and my husband often not home for most of it. The kids go to bed around 8.

This summer I had someone helping out from 4 to 7 because camps aren't really full day and I loved how much more relaxed I feel. I'm looking for a collage student this fall 2 days weeks so I can feel less stressed and get more quality interactions which each kid.

I also outsource a lot of housework so my weekends are pretty much all about the kids. I know that isn't always an option but I think it really helps.

[kdubs923]

You kind of just make everything work. I find evenings hectic if I deviate from the routine, so I avoid doing errands if possible. That's for the weekend, lunch break, before daycare pick up, or once DS goes to bed, etc.

I work 8-4:45, with about 35-40 minutes commute to daycare and another 10 minutes home. The commute part is the roughest part. We're out of the house from 7:15am - 5:45pm. DS is generally starving at night, so I give him a pouch when I pick up (we look at the traffic driving by daycare while he scarfs it, lol). He has some time to play while dinner is ready and then he needs to eat by 6:15-6:30. Meal prep and lowering standards for a quick meal is key here. (grilled cheese, stir fry, grilling, pasta, quesadillas, etc)

So we do dinner from about 6:30-7, a little more playing while I get the bath ready and prep for the next day. Then bath and bed by 7:30-7:45ish.

The mornings are fine. I give him a cup of milk to hold him over while I finish getting ready. Then he has a small breakfast bar/mini muffins/cup of cheerios at daycare drop off, around 7:30. The daycare serves actual breakfast at 9, but he just can't wait that long. So he has breakfast in 2 or 3 parts. Whatever works.

[nessness]

I work 7:30-4:45, but only part time. I nurse DD when she wakes up, then usually feed her a small breakfast to keep her occupied while I eat my own breakfast.

I do feel like I don't get to spend much time with her on the days I work, since we get home at 5:30 and she goes to bed at 6:30, but I know the 6:30 bedtime won't last forever.

ETA: I think daycare just feeds the babies breakfast as they arrive. They eat lunch together at 11.

[redheadbaker]

I worked 8 to 5 at a previous job, with an hour commute each way. DS was 16 months when I started, 2.5 years old when I left (contract job). I hated it. I felt like I never saw DS.

I would get him up and dressed while FI walked the dogs. I'd pack breakfast for him. FI took him to daycare, DS ate breakfast there. FI would pick him up, and give him dinner as soon as they got home. I would get home an hour later and have about 30 minutes with him before we would start the bedtime routine.

[Deleted]

I've never not worked 8-5. Sometimes I work earlier or later but that's in addition to those hours.

It was a little harder on me in the beginning when DS would go to bed around 6-6:30 when he was a baby (he's always been an early riser) but now that he's generally up until 8/8:30 and I solo parent most nights, I'm like "aren't you tired YET" lol.

[jessnpaul]

I work 9-5 but it used to be 8:30-5:30 (we merged with another company a few years ago so we adopted their hours). I drop B off at daycare in the mornings and pick him up most nights. I feed him breakfast at home, although there are days we eat in the car (don't flame me... there aren't enough hours in the day sometimes!)

I try to make our limited time quality time. I think it's easier in the summer because there's still plenty of daylight hours to take walks and go out and do stuff with him. Winter is harder and I feel like our time is less quality because there's not much to do when it's pitch black out!

ETA: He doesn't go to bed until 9pm, so if he were to go to bed earlier I might feel different. One of my friends has her daughter in bed by like 6:30-7pm which would never work for us! But she's a teacher and gets home earlier.

[swimmette]

I give DS yogurt and berries while I feed DD (6 months), then I leave the house by 7 to drop him off and get into the office by 7:30 or so.  DC feeds him a real breakfast at some point (maybe 9 or so?).  They also feed him lunch and a snack, so it works out pretty well.  I usually pick him up about 5:15 or so to get home by 5:30.  He goes to bed around 8.  It is a good amount of time because he is usually whiny after daycare because he's tired/hungry.

[vmars]

I used to and I didn't enjoy it. I changed my hours to 8:30 - 4:30 and that's much more manageable for me. 8-5 with a short commute wouldn't be awful.

[lindsaymg]

I work 8-8:30 to 5ish (I leave when you run out of things to do between 4:45 and 5:20 ish).

DS is obviously older so he can stay up later (and I push it some in the summer). I pick him up and we are home anywhere from 5:10 to 6:00 depending on where I had to pick him up from (what day camp he is at/after school care etc).

From there if H is in town and not traveling I come home and lay on the couch (it is 100 degrees and I am 38 weeks pregnant) while he finishes up work and cooks. He WFH when not traveling and his company is mountain time so he is wrapping up around 6-6:30, and DS goes outside and plays with his friends until dinner. From there we eat and do some kind of activity (recently it is baby room prep or watching something on tv together).

He goes to bed 8:30 normally and 9 if I am being "summer lenient" (he doesn't get up as early in the summer.)

[halfpint]

I work 8-5, sometimes a bit later, but work from home, so a little different. When I was commuting, I wouldn't get home until 6ish or sometimes later, and always felt like it was a rush to feed him and get him to bed - no time for anything as a family.

We do tend to have a later schedule for our family. We do something fun when I get off work, and then dinner at 7:30ish, bed at 8:30ish, my H and I are usually up until 11 or later cleaning up dinner, catching up on a favorite show, etc. B wakes up around 7:30am, nanny comes at 8am, so he usually has breakfast when she gets here. If he were in daycare, I think he'd wait until he got there as well - just a cup of milk right when he wakes up.

[niq]

I do sometimes wish we got another hour or so in the evenings. It would help everything feel a little less rushed/routine. We could go to the park or stay and watch the boats after daycare or whatever.