How to Make Evenings Stress-Free

Arriving home from work to chaos and an unprepared meal can be stressful. With deadlines and soccer practice looming, you have only so many minutes to get everyone ready and out the door. Doing this without working up your stress level takes a bit of forward thinking and strategizing.

Make Dinner Ahead of Time

When preparing even a simple meal seems overwhelming, don’t. Use a book of crock pot recipes to prepare meals ahead of time every other day and then bring in take-out on the days in between. For the five busiest days of the week, you can give your children meat and vegetables in an almost endless variety.

Other fast dinner options include making breakfast for dinner, heating up left-overs, refrigerated meals that need only to be heated and hot sandwiches. Don’t worry about gourmet food during the week. Keep it simple and healthy. If that means bringing home food from the local Italian restaurant, so be it. A little spaghetti and meatballs to-go never hurt anyone.

Establish an Evening Routine

Rather that encouraging television and video games during this crazy part of the day, make the time from after school until soccer practice (or bath time, etc…) quiet time for homework or study. Your younger children without homework can work on printable coloring pages beside their older siblings finishing up math homework.

Working at the kitchen table is ideal for a time, as you can monitor the homework, but eventually you’ll have to boot the children out to set the table for dinner. If you have a formal dining room, make that the table used for homework and coloring during this quiet time. It’s likely close by and should be quiet. You can also protect your table with table pads covered by a tablecloth if you’re worried about over-zealous crayon use.

Get Help from Your Children

Children of any age can help out with dinnertime tasks. Have your children se the table while you do last minute arrangements. Have one put plates and silverware on the table and the other prepare glasses of water for everyone to drink. Then you need only to plop the food on the table, say a blessing and dig in. Your children can help clean up afterward, as well.

Easy Step By Step

• Prepare dinner ahead of time.
• Establish an evening routine of homework and quiet time.
• Get help from your children to do the more menial tasks.

Warnings, Advice, and Suggestions

Make your children responsible for as much as possible. If you are heading out to their practice or they want to play video games, make the work of preparing for that theirs – not yours.

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