If you’re a parent who works outside the home, how do you deal with the end of the day with a preschooler? The end of the day is a rough sort of time, especially if your preschooler no longer naps. Perhaps you pick up your preschooler from relatives or from a child care center. Maybe your preschooler is at home with a nanny. You arrive home. The house is in various stages of disarray. Dinner needs to get on the table, likely half an hour before the present time. Your child is whining and needs you to undo her shoes, put up her coat. She really needs some cuddle time, but the cats are calling for food and you know that you and your family are hungry, too. The temptation to turn on the television or simply run screaming out the front door again is overwhelming.
Now, this is not to say that the television is a bad option. In fact, I use it from time to time. I find that it tends to delay the cuddling and reconnection time and the whining too. Sometimes I need that. Other times, I find that when reconnecting happens during dinner, dinner battles ensue.
How can you make the end of the work day easier? I prepare two meals at the same time, and I try to prepare side dishes beforehand as well. Then I put one meal in the fridge, ready for the next day. This greatly simplifies the dinner hour.
Children pick up on your stress. If you can be calm about the return home and the pressing deadline of dinner, things will go more smoothly. Develop a getting home routine. I deal with the potential crises first. We need to get in the door, shoes and jacket off, and cats fed. Then we try to reconnect and talk about our day. If I need to cook, I invite my daughter into the kitchen for a cuddle, and she can sit or play at the table while I cook. If her dad is home, he reconnects with her while I cook. If we’re all really cranky, sometimes she watches television and I turn on the radio and we connect when we all feel less stressed. I also find that connecting through a phone call in the middle of the day when my daughter is at her grandparents’ house means that there is less of a divide when we come home.
How do you deal with the end of the day blues?