super fun.
Since Emmett was little we’ve tried to have kid dates with each one of our 4 children.
It gets complicated sometimes and I wish I could say we were ultra consistent. We aren’t. But we’re getting better.
A kid date is an hour to 90 minutes of uninterrupted fun time with only one of our children. In theory this sounds totally do-able…
Until you start thinking about the places you have to be everyday after school, the needs each of your kids have with school work, the dinner making, the carpooling, the….well, you get what I mean.
You start to wonder if you’ve even got 30 minutes to spare for some one on one time with each of your kids.
We plan to have one of these official kid dates twice a month. Mike takes out two of the kids and I take out two of the kids. The next month we switch.
(Of course there are times mingled into our days where we sit with only one child and read a book, make dinner, chat on our bed, go on grocery store runs, spend time together before each child falls off to sleep, etc. But this…this is the golden goose time that each of our kids covets.)
Kid dates mean (or why our kids love kid dates):
Time with just us, uninterrupted.
No cell phones.
No other kids.
No talking over someone else for attention.
No one pushing your buttons.
No parent talking to another child while you’re in midsentence.
Just time to do whatever you want (within reason).
It’s super fun!
Why Mike and I love it:
We get to have uninterrupted time with just one of our kids at a time.
Checking in with our children.
Getting their emotional, spiritual, social temperature.
Talking about their friends and how they feel about our family.
No stress.
Getting to be with just one child takes away virtually all disciplining responsibility.
It’s super fun!
Most kid dates are:
Free
Or under $5
Local
Stress free
A time to chat
About having fun
*occasionally we do more expensive dates but the thing we want to stay focused on is being together not how crazy and expensive the date can be
Kid Date #1:
Emmett and I went to the local Family Fun Center. It’s a place where you can bowl, play video games and skee ball, and get in a photo booth. We had our $5 or so and decided to see what we could do with it. We played skee ball like crazy and won a boatload of tickets and then traded them in for some toys.
I love getting to talk to Emmett. His perspective on life is so much different from the girls and he is just so much fun. The time out with just him was so refreshing. I love getting to be with just him.
Happiness,
Davina
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7 Comments
LOVE THE PHOTO BOOTH PICTURES!!
What a great idea! We do have time with each child here and there, but having a “date” on the calendar would make it very special. I love photo booths! 🙂
Thanks, Wombat! You have to tell me your first name. 🙂 (You have to tell me your first name. I couldn’t find it anywhere!)
This is so great!!! You have great ideas Davina, as always.
Thank you Sarah!! It’s so good to hear from you! How are you? What are you and Trent up to? I know you had just had a baby last time we were in touch…
Love this! We have talked about doing this as our youngest gets a bit older so they can have special time with us. Brilliant!
Maya, I’m so glad you love this idea. Yay! Thank you. 🙂 Would love to hear some of the things you end up doing…