Piranha Hour Survival Of The Fittest

The few hours between getting home and getting the kids into bed are doubtless the most tiring and stressful part of any working parent’s day. Cathrine Versfeld questions if it possible to get through what she calls ‘Piranha Hour’ in one piece, exploring the biggest stress factors and finding light at the end of the ‘feeding frenzy’.

- Cathrine Versfeld

They say that there is a river in the Amazon jungle that is so full of piranha fish that they can skeletonise a cow in two minutes. Whether or not this is true, any working parent can relate to that imagery at the end of a long day. After fetching tired, dirty children from school or day care and navigating peakhour traffic, it seems utterly unfair that ‘getting home’ also means the hard work is just beginning. Although the reasons for this ever present dilemma seem obvious, identifying them may give some clues as to how to solve some of the biggest sources of fatigue and conflict.

WHAT MAKES IT SO HARD?

Piranha Hour is a nightmare because everybody is tired at the end of a long day, but there are a few more subtle things going on. Hunger is a major contributing factor to irritability, and not just in children. As most people only have a snack somewhere between lunch and dinnertime, the chances are good that both parents and tots have used up all their fuel stores and are starting to run on empty. The hour or so that it might take to prepare dinner means that you and your hungry family are spending 60 minutes of constant moaning, griping, frequent arguments and general misery. It’s no wonder the ‘wheels come off’ shortly after your arrival home.