Late Dinners

I know what some of you may be thinking...my husband gets home way too late to have dinner as a family! Late dinners and small children seem like a recipe for disaster. However, I am finding that by rearranging my afternoon schedule, my daughter can wait for dinner.

My husband gets home between 6 and 6:15. By the time he changes we are usually beginning dinner around 6:20ish. Ideally, I would have dinner around 5:15. This used to be a really hot topic in our house. My husband couldn't get home earlier and I had a really crabby toddler on my hands. But family dinners are important to us! We both had them in our families growing up and decided this is too important for us to give up because he gets home a little later.

So, I feed lunch a little later and then give my daughter a snack around 4:30. Don't get me wrong! We still have a pretty crabby time between 5:45 and 6:15, but I have decided that eating together is worth it. Not to mention that teaching my kids patience isn't a bad lesson either. :)

Even if you husband gets home a little later, I would urge you to try to adjust the dinner hour. I am sure that this small time of discomfort will bring times of great encouragement as my children grow.