It does not matter whether or not you are new parents, or parents of older children, couples need and deserve time alone together in order to keep their spark and marriage alive. With the stress of home, work and the kids, it is easy to forget just what they love about that other person and why they got married in the first place. While it may not be easy to escape for the kids for long periods of time, there are little ways to make time for your spouse after having children every day. Here are some ideas:
1) Send the Kids to Their Room
Sending the kids to their room does not have to be taken as a punishment. Kids need time to play and to be separated from the TV every once in a while. Sending the kids to their room gives parents time to talk or watch a movie together, while still having the children within earshot. Once playtime is over, the children should also clean up their own mess, leaving less work for mom and dad and also teaching them more responsibility.
2) Children Can go to Bed Early on Weekends
If the kids normally go to bed late on the weekend, it is a privilege, not a right. If one or both parents work during the week, the weekend might be their only option to spend time together and finding a sitter may not be an option. Every once in a while the kids can be sent to bed a little earlier on the weekends in order to let parents have time to themselves.
3) Find a Sitter
This is obviously the most ideal situation, but some families do not have a reliable sitter or family member to watch their children. If a good sitter is available, at least once a month parents should take advantage and go out on a date night, or even a day date, depending on each individual family’s schedule and limitations.
4) Have A Parents Game Night
Having a parents game night might not mean being alone with each other, it does mean getting in some fun, quality time with other adults, which is just as important. Couple with kids can bring their children over, which means the kids will entertain themselves while the adults play.
5) Send Texts
A lot of jobs and certain lifestyles do not allow parents to answer every single incoming call and certain places prohibit personal calls completely. Instead of a noisy call, parents can send text messages during the day to let their spouse know they are thinking of them. Whatsapp is a great program that is free to download and enables users to send photos, voice messages and texts messages through a wifi or any internet connection via cell phone.
6) Do Chores Together
There is no faster way to scare a child away than to ask them to help do chores; however, this is the perfect opportunity for couples to be with each other. Cooking dinner, washing dishes, working out in the yard or even cleaning out the car not only gets the job done faster with two people, but lets adults have fun while doing it with little to no child interference. Children who see their parents completing chores together will see that both parties share equal responsibility and that just because a task is a chore, it is not necessarily a bad thing.
7) Call or Write for No Reason
If phone calls are allowed, spouses should make an effort to call each other for no reason just to tell the other how much they appreciate them. The call should not be for any other reason, or to ask for a favor like stopping at the grocery store and the message should be short and sweet. The same thing could be said about letters and greeting cards, it does not have to be someone’s birthday or a holiday in order to give someone a card or letter telling them how much they are loved and appreciated.
