I got home from work at 5.30 tonight, later than usual as I picked my son up from dance (his only after school activity) on the way home. 2 teens go out to Scouts on Mondays (again, their only activity) and have to be out by 6.45. I fed the animals, sat my smallest on the worktop to do spellings/reading while I cooked. I made nasi goreng with peppers, sweetcorn, peas, spring onion, kale, cucumber, leftover roast pork, prawns and egg. It took me about 12 minutes and that was only because I had to wait for the rice to boil. All 3 kids wolfed it as they've been given vegetables and proper mealtimes from an early age. We had a family dinner including playing a card game and chatting about the day. Smallest (year 1)was bathed and in bed by 7 while my husband got home just in time to take the other 2 out.
The relevance?? I have A LOT more on my plate than Sarah does and I can absolutely boss ordinary parenting - as most of us can. The more I see of her the more I think she needs a genuine intervention ie a social worker or someone to give her the reality check that she's a horrible excuse for a mum.