What does your family do in the evenings?

[Oakblossoms]

At some point everyone started to drift apart. I am completely disgusted by it.

 

does anyone spend time together in the evenings?

[ChristusG]

Honestly, not much. DH doesn't arrive home until around 6:30 or 6:45. Up until then we are schooling, cleaning up, and cooking dinner. We eat when he arrives home. By the time we finish dinner and clean up, it's like 7:30 which is time for the kids to start getting ready for bed. At 8, we start putting them to bed. Afterwards, DH and I usually watch a show or two together.

[seraphina]

We try and spend time together but it's hard because everyone wants to do their own thing. One thing we try and do every night is have dinner together after dh gets home. Since dh is usually tired after a long day he wants to veg. We find shows on tv or netflix to enjoy together. We often play board games or even pull out the wii and play some Mario Cart.

[SKL]

My kids are 4. We usually go somewhere together in the evenings - rec center, museum, park, library, shopping, a cultural event. A couple of days are spent just putzing at home - Tuesday is supposed to be "game day," and Mondays are open for whatever. We try to get in some kind of physical activity as well as some learning activity. I homeschool / afterschool in the evenings as well.

[desiree77]

My kids are usually outside in the evenings. They play at neighbor kid's houses or in our yard. Sometimes dad and I will go out and water the grass or throw a ball with them. Sometimes we take walks with the dog and go to the park. Other times dh and I stay inside. It's a nice vegging time for me after a full day of homeschooling. Dh likes to play video games. Right now he researching local hunting spots.

[GWOB]

Settlers of Catan and Seafarers of Catan. We play these games at least 3x's a week. Sometimes it gets ugly, but at least we are all together.

 

When dh isn't working nights (he works rotating shiftwork) we have dinner together. This Fall I have cut down on the amount of outside activities. It has made our evenings so much easier. Right now, ds is working on a Star Wars card game, so dh has been helping him develop that on the computer. Sometimes one parent reads to the kids. Sometimes we hang out outside and play a really lame game of soccer. Some nights we veg out in front of a semi-educational TV program. Mostly, we like board games. Besides the whole Settlers of Catan family, we like Monopoly (even dd4 gets into it by counting the dice roll), Sequence, Rummicube, and, if we're really desperate, Sorry.

[Rosie_0801]

We don't spend much time together in the evenings either. Quite frankly, by evening, I'm ready for the day to end! Dh doesn't get home until 7.20 at the earliest. The kids may or may not be awake. If they are, he and I eat together and the kids watch a vid, eat with us, or generally mill around until we're finished. Then dh watches the vid with them and they chat about it. Once ds is in bed, dh reads dd a bedtime story and carts her off to bed. Then we watch an episode of Dr Who :D

 

If they're already in bed, we might play Scrabble if we have any brainpower left, or watch two episodes of Dr Who if we haven't :D I'd like to start studying together again because we want to work on logic, but the lack of brainpower and the call of Dr Who means we haven't yet.

 

Rosie

[greenvneck]

I think that the answers you receive will largely depend on the ages of children, specifically the older ones, with more evening activities.

 

When we only had two kids, and they were young, we were all about the family dinner table and family game night. Now? All of the kids (well, not one of the girls, she is at college, but it's the same schedule she's used to when she was here) have tae kwon do classes. Everyone has to go 3x+ a week, but the youngers are in different classes. So 3x a week we don't get home until 8:15; 2x a week dh doesn't get home until 9:15 from his class (and he's the one who puts the youngers to bed). Even on the nights he doesn't have tae kwon do he doesn't get home before 7:00, but every minute that is here is spent on kids.

 

Basically, we have no evening time together on weekdays.

[Lily_Grace]

We all have different evening activities - sports, scouts, meetings.. we used to play board games together when we were home but with Destructobaby running around it's hard to find time in the evenings for that anymore. Now we usually scatter after dinner to take care of our own things.

 

About once every three months or so we make time for a Gilmore night. It used to be just The Kid and I but dh felt left out when he heard what went on while he was gone. :tongue_smilie: The Kid and I run and pick up all the bad-for-you foods (Taco Bell party pack, candy, frozen jalapeno poppers..) and a bunch of bad movies and we all stay up as late as we can. It's cheesy, i know, watching a Bring-It-On-athon or 1950s sci-fi flicks and calling it family time but we all look forward to it.

[Elizabeth in WA]

By the time I get all the kids home from gymnastics/tae kwon do (depending on which kid), it's 8:30. I generally have dinner all ready to serve, so we eat and then at about 9, I start reading out loud. It's usually about 10 by the time I finish the scheduled reading and that is bedtime. By the time I have everyone settled, it's time for me to goo to bed because I have gym buddies to meet at 6AM, and who want to go back to 5AM meet-ups now that school year is here again... So we are all separate for the early evening and then together for the late evening / nighttime until bedtime. Although, actually, the kids and I are all together all day except for 4 til 8 PM... ;)

[twoxcell]

Well the kids have swim lessons on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. We generally all go and my dh and I hang out with the two little ones in the gym while the older ones take turns swimming. When we are home we either watch TV, play games, read books, and the kids do baths a few nights a week.

[swellmomma]

We dash from one activity to the next ;) Tonight was girl guides for dd, then had to pick her up early from there to get her and ds to 4-H. By the time we get home from any of their activities it is bedtime for everyone. I figure we have spent ample time together all day, we all need the break from each other by the time they get to their activities. Then again I do not have a dh to reconnect with at the end of the day, or the kids to see.

[Oakblossoms]

I feel like such a dolt now.:tongue_smilie:

 

Please return to your normal evenings.

 

At least, the baby finds me entertaining.

[Rosie_0801]

I feel like such a dolt now.:tongue_smilie:

 

Please return to your normal evenings.

 

At least, the baby finds me entertaining.

 

 

Why? You're allowed to want what you want.

[Oakblossoms]

Thanks.

 

I just miss some of the things we used to do. Life has been a lot these past few years. We just survive for the most part. I think I am getting really run down.

 

I am craving things and I need to find some strength inside myself to arrange them. Hope that makes sense.

[Mom in High Heels]

Well, Indy is only 9, and only does scouts, so we have time in the evenings for now. Until James Bond gets home, Indy plays outside with his friends or in his room if it's raining or there's no one out. We eat dinner (together) at 6 (5 if it's a scout night) and after dinner we either play a game together or watch TV together. Sometimes Indy wants to go play Legos or whatever, so it's just JB, Han Solo (who can't get enough togetherness ;)) and me.

When I was growing up (I was an only child) we always ate dinner together until I started working part time after school. On the evenings I didn't work, we ate together and hung out together afterward. I think that was important for me as a young child and teen. BTW, my dad was in the Navy for 29 years and even when he was out to sea, my mom and I ate dinner at the table, with an occasion treat of eating on TV trays in the living room. I do the same with Indy when JB is away.

[regentrude]

At some point everyone started to drift apart. I am completely disgusted by it.

 

does anyone spend time together in the evenings?

 

We did, when the kids were younger.

Now DD14 is usually still at the barn with her horses and does not get home until 9 or 10.

DH gets home from work around 7; we eat and then usually go for a walk. DS sometimes wants to come.

I find it normal that older kids have their own activities and do not spend that much time with their parents anymore.

We spend more time together at home in Winter and will occasionally play board games or watch a movie - but nowhere near as much as when the kids were early elementary age.

[Joyofsixreboot]

When the older kids were little dh worked evenings. Now that I've got older, middle and young we're seldom home.

[JudoMom]

We usually have dinner anywhere from 7-8:30 (at least twice a week we're gone until 8:00). We typically watch either a Phineas & Ferb or an episode of another TV series. We watched all of Gilligan's Island, and we're currently watching Little House on the Prairie. Then we work on Bible verse memorization--right now we each have two passages from Ephesians, and we've almost got them memorized. When we're done, our family will be able to recite Ephesians. Then I do our family read aloud. I usually read about 15-20 minutes. On nights where we eat earlier, we often just spend time talking in between these things--we head up to bed around 9:30, usually.

 

The days of the week we don't have activities in the evening, we spend doing things on our to-do lists, usually, while the boys play. So I might fold laundry while dh works on a project outside--or the boys will often talk him into tossing the football or playing dodgeball. I might make more a time intensive dinner, or I might just sit down and stare into space, depending on the kind of day we've had.

[Jenny in Florida]

I think that the answers you receive will largely depend on the ages of children, specifically the older ones, with more evening activities.

 

Yep.

 

Mine are 16 and 13. Our current evening schedule looks something like this:

 

Monday - Son is at choir rehearsal from 4:30 to 7:00. Beginning next week, daughter has rehearsals for one of two plays from 7:00 to 10:00.

 

Tuesday - Son has a voice lesson at 5:15 and a dance class at 7:15.

 

Wednesday - At the moment, daughter has rehearsal for second play in a city an hour away from 7:00 to 9:30. We have season tickets for the Shakespeare theatre and the Broadway touring series, as well as tickets for a few of the Metropolitan Opera HD broadcasts, all of which are scheduled for Wednesday evenings.

 

Thursday - Daughter has another rehearsal for second play.

 

Friday - Saturday - Sunday - We are usually home together in the evenings, but we don't do anything exciting. I will try to make a more interesting or complex (or fun) dinner, and we all watch a movie or a couple of episodes of whatever series we're into currently. Occasionally, we'll play a game or work on a project instead.

 

We're still waiting for construction to be finished on the new dance studio my son will be attending. Once that is done and they open, he'll have more classes on more evenings.

[Peela]

Not much together. The kids and I watch some TV together and we all catch up on our days..then we drift off to our own activities- TV, computers- I often go to bed before everyone else for some quiet time.

 

The kids are often not home till 6 or 7 (one at college, one part time work). Nowadays, neither am I. Dh waits till I get home from work, often after having at least the afternoon watching TV, and wonders what's for dinner.:glare:

[Jyniffrec]

Then we watch an episode of Dr Who :D

 

If they're already in bed, we might play Scrabble if we have any brainpower left, or watch two episodes of Dr Who if we haven't :D I'd like to start studying together again because we want to work on logic, but the lack of brainpower and the call of Dr Who means we haven't yet.

 

Rosie

 

Dr. Who has been calling us as well. We don't tend to watch a lot of shows together so this is fun to do as a family.

[Tigger]

We have dinner together each night and try to do something together before going to bed. It's getting harder now that DS is more involved with outside activities, but our week usually looks like this:

 

Monday - DS has swim team until 6:15, then we head home and DH is usually rolling in about the same time, so dinner and then some TV or Wii together.

 

Tuesday - usually cub scouts (either den meeting or pack meeting), so I'll get back with DS around 8:00 and DH will have been home and made us all dinner, so we'll eat together, then usually do the bedtime routine (reading) and get to bed.

 

Wednesday - same as Monday.

 

Thursday - when DH gets home, we'll eat and then do something together.

 

Friday - same as Monday.

 

On the weekends we usually have things planned to do as a family and/or visit with the grandparents and/or do things with friends and their kids.

[angela in ohio]

Two or three nights a week, we are gone for activities, but the rest of the nights we eat dinner together when dh gets home and then we spend the rest of the evening together. Dh and dc play chess, I play backgammon with them, we play Wii games together, we play soccer or baseball in the backyard, we do our science experiments, we work on electronics or programming projects...

 

It's easier in the winter, because I make everyone stay in the living room so that we can cut our electricity consumption. :D Sometimes dh has work, and I have school, and dc read or work on things nearby.

 

After they go to bed, dh and I watch TV, read, do work, etc. But we usually focus on the kiddos for the 2-3 hours or so before bed.

 

Are there any hobbies that you all like? Would getting some new games help (I hate to admit that the Wii has really made family time fun)? New sports equipment?

[Momto3indians]

....but in the early years we only had 1 boob tube and so when we watched...we 'all' watched! We also went 3yrs without a tv and only used it for vcr tapes and that was really really nice for our family bonding! We had 'family night' once a week for years!! The kids LOVED family night and bragged about it. In later years it went from games to watching a good movie, while chowing down on pizza and soda in front of the tv! (a huge treat!) Still...we were together!

 

With homeschooling, I've always been sensitive to everyone wanting their 'space' and so we allowed for that...as they got older that 'space time' grew, too, but we did lots together in those early years! I miss those times!! Waaa....I miss my kids! Can I press 'repeat' please??

[butterflymommy]

Don't feel bad, we don't even eat dinner together. :sad: But we do have a routine of sorts-- the younger kids have a snack around 7 then go upstairs to their "apartment" -- three bedrooms on one floor. They play together up there until 9 or 10. During that time the older kids and I hang out on the lower floor, usually watching TV, reading, snacking, using computers. So we're "together" but not. If DH is home (he travels a lot and is often not even home during the week) there is definitely TV/ movies on as he is a huge film buff. He tries to keep it kid appropriate and the older kids might watch with him. Then around 11, the older kids and I go to bed. I usually harass the older ones into helping with any final kitchen clean up/ doing dishes... and that's that!

[Georgiana Daniels]

We're supposed to do something in the evening? :001_huh:

 

LOL! Well, we do stuff all right, just not together. My precious hubby (read siggy....he's one hard workin' dude!) doesn't get home until 11 p.m. at the earliest. That sort of shoots down any family activity.

 

As for the kids, our oldest moved out. So she's busy having a life! Go figure. Middle dd has gymnastics 3 nights a week, and youngest has soccer 1 night and church 1 night. One night a week we spend with hubby. The other 3, I presume we're flat-lining on the couch, because I can't seem to picture us home.

[laughing lioness]

My dh comes home between 9-10 2-3 nights a week so we don't always eat together. When dh is home we eat togehter around the table.

We do read-alouds every night. These days my 17 yo or dh read to the 11 yo and I read to the 8 yo but often the 11 yo joins in. Many times the older kids will be in the same area on FB or talking, reading and we'll all be discussing stuff togehter.

Frequently (we used to every night) we do family prayers together but if we don't dh goes downstairs and prays over each kid at home.

[TravelingChris]

When my dh is home and no one has evening activities, we go out sometimes (free concerts, shopping, dinner, etc) but usually we eat late (7 or later) and then we watch a tv show (often pre-recorded) or a dvd. Whether dd watches or not depends on what we are watching. She watches the science or engineering shows, sometimes a dumbest show or Cops, sometimes a medical show I have (Dr. G) and always if we are playing another Columbo episode. She doesn't watch the depressing movies I choose (WInter Bones, Frozen River, Wendy and Lucy, etc, etc) but does watch movies like Good Hair. She also watches something like SO you Think You can Dance or Dancing with the Stars. As we get closer to the elections, I think we are going to be watching news shows and debates more.

[arghmatey]

DF gets home and sorts mail, runs it upstairs, and changes into his evening clothes. He comes downstairs and plays with the children until dinner is ready (I usually just have to plate it by this time).

 

DD5 helps set the table and serve the food while DF serves drinks and seats DD2.

 

We eat and have a family meeting if needed.

 

I clean the kitchen while everyone else plays.

 

We go for a walk or bike ride, play with the dogs, practice any presentations we have to give to various groups, and dance, play cards, &c.

 

DF takes one of the children up for bed time, and I take up the other child.

 

DF and I have private time until we go to sleep.

[Firefly]

We do. We're also ones with older kids who do Karate, so some (usually two) nights we're not home until 8 or so. We do family dinners on non-karate nights, and pick up/every-person-for-themselves on karate nights. Either way, DH likes to chill out in front of the TV for an hour or two after dinner, but usually is watching something (soccer, Discovery) that is family friendly, so we all hang out there. Most of the time I'm knitting, DS reading, and DD drawing. It's not ideal, but DH works hard and that is how he likes to unwind; and it's the only time the TV's on during the day. Sometimes we do play a board game or all hang out and read, but not often. We're together though, and can talk about our days, so that's good at least. Usually around 10 the kids go to their rooms and read for a while before lights out.