Taking Time To “Date” Your Kids
by Tara Pringle Jefferson
So much of parenting is stressful. The baby pooped right as you were ready to head out the door, you forgot to pick up diapers and now your kid is sitting in a roll of paper towels while you run to the store. You got stuck in traffic and now Junior is the last kid at school – again.
It is precisely when you seem to be having one too many of these days in a row when you need to plan a day with your kids. I know you’re thinking, “I spend every day with them – what are you talking about?”
When was the last time we planned something for our kids? I don’t mean signing them up for a class or taking them on a playdate. I mean playing a whole day of fun stuff to do. Like a date.
Take your kids to the movies. Give ‘em some popcorn. Take ‘em to the mall, and then out to dinner. Go to a museum, or a special event that’s in town. Go to Chuck E. Cheese, if you can stand it. Make a special date with your kids and let them help you plan the activities for that day. Make it fun. Let them pick out a special outfit and make sure you look “special” too.
Sometimes we need to get out of the day-to-day drudgery and shake things up with something new. I try to “date” my kids at least once a month. Just me and my babies. No TV, no Twittering, no writing, no blogging. Just my babies.
How often do you “date” your kids? What activities do you usually plan?
Tara Pringle Jefferson is a freelance writer living in Ohio with her husband and two children. Visit her blog, www.theyoungmommylife.com, to read more of her observations about life, motherhood and love.
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