I forgot to mention that we already do date night with each kid each month. Well, it probably figures out to date night once a month. So, here’s how we’ve done it. And, frankly — date night with only 2 kids is pretty dang easy. 🙂
1. We rotate. So, Conner goes out with Drew and I’m home with Spencer, and then Spencer goes out with Drew and I’m home with Conner. Next time I’m out with Conner and it continues… works well so one parent isn’t feeling like they’re stuck at home all the time.
2. One child gets to go out and gets 20 dollars to spend, the other one is at home and can’t spend anything. I think it’s important to put budgeting into our date night, since that’s an important part of dating in general. It’s also nice to put a cap on things for the kids. We do sometimes buy Chuck E Cheese (a date night favorite) in bulk so that the kids can then “buy” them from us — instead of getting only 4 tokens for a dollar they get around 8. I also think it’s important for them to realize how much fun they can have at home without spending any money. Usually the child that’s at home is kind of ornery that they’re stuck at home but quickly they realize that sometimes those nights are even more fun because they get us all to themselves with all their toys and games, videos and food.
Anyway, those are the main parts of date night. We hope to do it 2 times per month, but sometimes it only gets done once. Sometimes during the date I have to chant a little mantra in my head that date night is all about the child. If they want Chuck E, and it’s in their budget we do it. We can let our little “dates” know that’s something we dont’ really want to do. Last night I drove all over town and I’m thinking it’s time to put some other type of location limitations on it, mostly because I hate to drive. 🙂
I am also hoping to incorporate family date nights in with a similar stay at home/go out type theme, and a budget.
Do you guys do date night? Do you have anything that works better?
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