Moms Are Feeding Kids Dinner as Soon as They Get Home From School & It’s Downright Genius

As moms, we always look for advice from other parents in the trenches that can help make life a bit easier. Back to school is a rough time for parents and kids getting used to a new routine. When your kid starts kindergarten, it can be particularly challenging. They aren’t always used to such long days away from home and can be tired, crabby, hungry, and ready to relax.

Mom Kelsey Pomeroy, who posts on social media as @kelsewhatelse, understands that being a young kid isn’t easy and it’s up to parents to help make life simpler. Pomeroy found that dinner time was a nightmare for her son, who just started kindergarten, so now her kids eat at 3:45 in the afternoon, and everyone is happy.

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The family made a simple swap that changed everything.

Pomery explained in a Facebook reel that she has a tip for parents who are “surviving the kindergarten rage.” It’s a familiar story to many parents.

Her son gets home from school hungry. She used to give him a snack, but he’d spend the next couple of hours raging because he was still so hungry. “It was a mess,” she admits in the video. So now, instead of having a snack, her son has dinner at 3:45 p.m. and a snack at what used to be dinner time.

The kids' dinner varies from night to night.

The busy mom explains that sometimes she fills a muffin tin with fruits, vegetables, crackers, and meat. On other days, they have leftovers, and some days, she cooks a meal while her son is at school and they’ll have that. It depends on the day and how her son is feeling. Having dinner as soon as he gets home allows the family to sit at the table, talk about his day, and decompress.

“We’re just mixing it up to suit us, and it’s working, so we’re going to go with it,” she admits.

Lots of people loved the idea.

@blissfullybarnes Life hack: feed your kids dinner when they get home from school instead of filling them up with snacks. This way they eat all their dinner and can snack later if they are still hungry! #momhack #momhacks #momsoftiktok #dinnertime ♬ Summer - Instrumental - Devinney

The reel has 1.9 million views, and fans think early dinner is genius.

One mom wrote, “We’re doing the same! We have 4 boys and the rage is INSANE!!! Feed them, water them, and approach with caution lol.”

This teacher agreed, commenting, “As a teacher, I make dinner between 3:30 and 4; I’m starving after school. I gave up on ‘normal’ dinner times when I kept coming home and eating ALL the snacks.”

More from CafeMom: I’m a Mom Who Thinks Family Dinner Is Way Overrated & That Doesn’t Make Me a Bad Parent

 

The Pomeroy family aren't the only ones who eat dinner early.

@diaz.alexiss Sometimes i forget im in charge and can literally make dinner time whenever i want so heres to trying to eat earlier to help with the after school hunger 🤣 #dinnerformykids #realisticmomlife #sahmof3 #realisticmotherhood #easydinners #whatsfordinner ♬ original sound - Alexis Diaz

TikToker Mercedes Barnes, who posts as @blisfullybarnes, posted a video about her family’s routine similar to the Pomeroy family’s. The Barnes girls are also super hungry when they get home from school, and when she feeds them an early dinner she says, “They always finish everything that’s on their plate.”

Another mom, Alexis Diaz, @diaz.alexiss, also loved the idea and shared a video making cheese quesadillas for her kids. She said she hopped on the early dinner trend because it just “makes sense.” If her kids continue to be hungry later in the evening, they can just eat more.

Ladies, thanks for the tip. We love this idea and so will our kids!