Having more than one child means a lot of competition for attention. Being a parent of more than one child means always feeling like you’re trying to dole out your attention fairly. As the mom of three, I started taking individual children out for “dates” when they were rather young–and even as teenagers, we still make time to have lunch or do something one-on-one. Here are some suggestions for making a date with your child…
One on one time can be quite scarce in a busy family and, while all-family activities are important, it is also incredibly rewarding and important for kids to feel like they have an individual relationship with mom and/or dad. Going out for activities (museum, sporting events, etc.) or for breakfast, lunch, or dinner are some obvious things to do on a date with your child, but even simple things like going for a bike ride or a picnic can be perfect (and easy) ways for the two of you to get off by yourselves.
For the more adventuresome, weekend trips or short vacations can make for incredible outings and special memories. When each of my kids turned ten, they got a weekend trip away to Seattle with mom. We took the train all the way to and from the big city, ate out at restaurants, toured the city and did activities specifically interesting to each individual child. They each have lasting memories of their own “Seattle Trip.”
While some parents might be organized enough to set a regular date with each child (and I think that would be fantastic–to have a standing date), my approach was a little looser. I just kept track whose “turn it was” to go to lunch, shopping, to the book store ( a great outing, by the way, going to a book store with a coffee shop within–having cocoa and looking at books) or whatever and tried to create a specialness around our being out just the two of us.