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Four friends of different ages walking arm in arm along a stone street at dusk, one carrying flowers

Together · 15 min

The after-school landing

The first fifteen minutes after school: a snack, a quiet space, and no questions yet.

15 minutesFrom the library, free to readFour steps
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Children often come home from school tired, hungry and full of the day. The first question, how was school, is often met with a shrug or an outburst. A gentle landing, before the questions, can change the whole evening.

The steps

Four small steps,in your own time.

  1. For the first fifteen minutes after school, offer a snack and a drink, and let your child rest, play or sit quietly.

  2. Hold back the questions. Instead, be nearby: in the kitchen, on the sofa, doing something calm yourself.

  3. When they start talking, listen. If they do not, try one easy, specific question later, such as: what was the best bit of lunch?

  4. Keep homework, chores and screens until after the landing, and try to keep it at roughly the same time each day.

The reason

Why it helps

School asks a lot of children: concentration, rules, friendships, noise. Many hold it together all day and let it out at home. A short landing gives them time to settle, so conversations and homework later are easier for everyone.

A gentle variation

For a teenager, the landing might be their own space, a shower or music with headphones. Offer food, then leave the door open for later. Often the talk comes at bedtime or in the car.

One hand resting over another on a wooden table

WE · TRIBE

Try itwith someone.

If someone else picks the children up, a grandparent, a neighbour or a childminder, share the landing with them, so the routine stays the same whoever is at home.

Make it a plan in HIVELIVE, with WE

Try it today

Today, give your child fifteen quiet minutes after school, with a snack and no questions.

Add it to your day

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