Nine years ago I began having monthly dates with my children. After 175 dates with them, I have found they are the most important thing of our family. I have also learned it can be a challenge to find the time, the ideas and resources to have such a commitment. This site is dedicated to encouraging you as well as trying to provide you with as many tools and resources so that you can simply enjoy the time with your child. If you decide to commit to consistent one-on-one time with your child, you won’t regret it. This page is dedicated to giving you a ton of date idea resources to get you started!
While running a few years ago thinking about the dates I have with my children. I asked myself what the most difficult thing I faced each month was. The answer was coming up with what to do with them each month. I knew that if I faced that problem, there were probably other parents that faced that same issue. I decided to come up with ideas and resources to help as many moms and dads as possible.
These are great dates that can be utilized with any combination of family members, but I would encourage you to spend them with one child at a time to focus on your relationship. If you have more than one child, you can use the same date multiple times. You can take each date idea and make each one unique for
each child. The main takeaway is to develop, grow, and strengthen the individual relationship you have with each of your children.
Tools and Resources
• The Idea: The date idea itself
• What Makes This Date Special (WMTDS): This section explains what makes this date stand out compared to other dates. All dates are special because of the one-on-one time together, but depending on the chosen activity, each date possesses something unique.
• Teachable Moments: Just as different date ideas allow for unique experiences, most dates also allow for teachable moments with your child. Some dates offer one or two lessons, but others offer an abundance. Some of these moments you may know about going on the date, but others will arise from the conversations you have during the date. Regardless, look for ways to teach them as you spend time together.
• Variations: One of the ways a date idea can be special is the personal touch you give it. Many date ideas have slight variations you implement to make them unique to you and your child. There may be some date ideas that you don’t feel are a good fit, but with some modifications, they can be. You can also create multiple dates from one idea by making changes to provide different experiences for your child.
• Categories: This allows you to glance at the date and know whether it is a good fit for how you’re looking to spend time with your child that month.
• Expense: One of the biggest factors for these dates is your budget and how much you can afford to spend. Some months you may have a moderate budget and others you may require a free date. I’ve provided a good number of both options for each date idea.
• Planning: This is where you’ll find what you need to do before the date. Some dates require no planning at all. Others may need weeks of planning, even if it’s only getting them on the calendar in advance, before your actual date. This section helps walk you through that.
Online Resources
• Google (Pinterest): Some dates will require planning or research. I’ve provided specific websites, but in case you want to go beyond those, I’ve also provided keywords or phrases to help. For some dates, you can use a search engine like Google, but you may well find more resources on Pinterest.
• Websites: These are the specific sites and resources that might help with your date. Please keep in mind that sites often change. At the time of writing, these are great sites to help plan your date.
• YouTube: Similar to websites, this section provides videos that are a great source for research. I identified entertaining yet helpful videos for this section. Sadly, not all dates had good content on YouTube, or the content has been removed.
• Amazon: Some dates require purchases, whether for research or for the date itself. Amazon is a well-known site that readers worldwide have access to. I’ve provided links to take you to items relevant to a given date.