Sometimes our lives can become so busy and hectic that we forget to take time out for each other and really connect with each other.
You may be making time for your significant other, but what about your children?
Often I find myself running my kids to a class or a lesson or we do something as a family and they might not get that individual attention they need to really feel connected with a parent. My son isn’t in school yet, but my daughter is, and I really want to hold on to our connection so that when things get harder, as life often does, she can feel that connection with me and my husband. And it won’t be long until my son is in school and I am trying to keep that connection as he is discovering his individuality. It is because of that need to build connections that we have started doing parent/child date nights this past year.
Ideas of what to do can sometimes be hard to come up with and it can feel like you are revisiting the same ideas over and over, so I wanted to share some of our parent/child date nights with you to help you and maybe you can share some ideas in return. Many of these are free or low cost!
And don’t worry if you can’t think of an idea, often the kids have an idea and it might be the best one. They may enjoy it even more if they have input.
Parent/Child Date Night Ideas
- Mani/Pedis (at home or go to a salon if you have the budget)
- Movie night at home (Redbox or library movie or something on the DVR) – my son once specified he wanted to have 2 pops (different flavors to share) and popcorn during his father/son date night
- Slumber party for parent/child in the living room
- Visit a Cabela’s store to see the animals (some stuffed, some not!)
- Clothes shopping (just one kid, not the whole clan)
- Out for ice cream
- Game night at home
- Park trip
- Attend a play at an area high school
- Ice skating
- Sporting event (high school, college, professional)
- Fishing
- Museum trip
- Candy store visit
- Hang out at a coffee shop
- Go to a concert (this could just be something local)
- Play video games together
- Zoo trip
- Take a class together
- Cook/Bake together
- Shop a Farmer’s Market
- Go out for pie
- Take a bike ride
- Bounce Around together at a bounce/trampoline place
- Have a Dance-Off (my daughter loves this) in your living room
With 3 kids I often feel like I don’t spend enough time with each one individually. I love the idea of parent/child date. Thanks for sharing! I’ll be pinning this list! -Monika
I love this idea! We often talk about going on dates with our spouses but never having a date with your own child. Sounds awesome! :)
Great ideas. I’d love to take my daughter out for a bike ride!
I really need to work on spending more time with my kids individually and these are some great ideas.