hotgurl Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Do any of you esp parents go on date night? How old are your kids? We used to go on dates every Friday and my parents watched my daughter. Now we have moved 1 hour away and so we don't have a sitter. It has been a while since date night, Do you think dating your spouse is important? also my daughter is 13 and she is home by herself after school for 1-2 hours but I don't feel comfortable leaving he home alone at night. mostly because of my guilt. What age do you think it is ok to leave a kid alone at night for a couple hours?
JamesM Posted January 16, 2009 Posted January 16, 2009 Do any of you esp parents go on date night? What is an esp parents? My wife and I rarely get a date night, but when we do we enjoy it alot. More often we have lunch dates which we enjoy. This way we do not have to pay a babysitter. How old are your kids? Four between the ages of 6 to 12. Soon we will go out and leave them alone at night. We have done it during the day for a couple of hours but not at night. We used to go on dates every Friday and my parents watched my daughter. We did it more often when our babysitter did not have a full time job and college. Now she has less time. Although she wishes she had more time, because we pay her good. Now we have moved 1 hour away and so we don't have a sitter. It has been a while since date night, You should try to find a way to begin again. Do you think dating your spouse is important? Very important. I know that when my wife and I are out without the kids that she becomes the girl I dated. I even have a thread here that I talk about dating a girl I dated twenty years ago...which refers to my wife. I think date nights bring back that spark of romance which gets lost in our daily activities. Even if we stay at home after the kids are in bed, it isn't the same. We still are parents. also my daughter is 13 and she is home by herself after school for 1-2 hours but I don't feel comfortable leaving her home alone at night. mostly because of my guilt. I understand. How can you relax and enjoy the evening if you are wondering what is going on at home? What age do you think it is ok to leave a kid alone at night for a couple hours? Totally depends on the kid, neighborhood and the other children of yours. Personally, I think 14 is good for most. But our oldest boy is not comfortable yet at 12. When he is older then so will the next child and then the two together will be fine. Date nights for parents are what makes parents remember to stay lovers. There is a song that I have on CD that I played for one of my boys who clings to his mother. It is called Before There Was You by Steve and Annie Chapman. It tells the child that we need to go out tonight without you because "She was my sweetheart before there was you." He thinks it is funny, but it says alot to us as parents. We need to remember that we were sweethearts before we were parents. And that is what a date night does for us. To be good parents we need to be good partners.
Author hotgurl Posted January 16, 2009 Author Posted January 16, 2009 sorry james I meant especially parents. Our neighborhood is safe very rural. But because it is so rural she is about 1/4 mile walk from neighbors we are friends with. She is going to be 14 and has taken babysitting courses is CPR trained and trained for emergencies by the red cross. So I feel some of it is me being guilty or overprotective. WE did go out for dinner last Sunday for about 1.5 hours. So maybe I could try once a month. But also she just wants to be around us a lot. Like she misses us if we are gone for even 1 day(if she is sleeping at grandma's)
OregonTraveller Posted February 7, 2009 Posted February 7, 2009 Do any of you esp parents go on date night? >>> Yes...though it seems that children functions tend to take the most time How old are your kids? >> 11, 13, 15, 17, 19.. We used to go on dates every Friday and my parents watched my daughter. Now we have moved 1 hour away and so we don't have a sitter. It has been a while since date night, Do you think dating your spouse is important? >>YES...though we dont have the same level (how important are kids vs spouse) also my daughter is 13 and she is home by herself after school for 1-2 hours but I don't feel comfortable leaving he home alone at night. mostly because of my guilt. What age do you think it is ok to leave a kid alone at night for a couple hours? >>We've sometimes gotten a sitter (another mom) if we go really far away.. But the 19 and 17 can drive...so its not a problem now...Its even easier when the children are spending the night with others...
voldigicam Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Pretty funny - we keep planning on it. But somehow staying home and cooking a nice meal seems better when the time comes. I suppose we're homebodies. We work together (run a business), home school. Our daughter can certainly stay on her own and take care of our son. We just rarely use that option for going out. Our dates are bicycle rides together. That's really special.
Touche Posted February 8, 2009 Posted February 8, 2009 Pretty funny - we keep planning on it. But somehow staying home and cooking a nice meal seems better when the time comes. I suppose we're homebodies. We work together (run a business), home school. Our daughter can certainly stay on her own and take care of our son. We just rarely use that option for going out. Our dates are bicycle rides together. That's really special. I can kind of relate to this. We're homebodies too. Our favorite "dates" are when our son is staying at g'mas or a friends. We usually just stay home and turn the stereo on full blast and cook a special meal...pretty much act like we did when we were dating. Once in a while we'll go out though. But our favorite type of "date" is when we're home alone.
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