A great way to bond with your son and keep lines of communication open is by taking him on a date.
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When my oldest was little, we spent so much time together playing, singing songs, going on adventures, and visiting friends. Then I had two boys and it became much harder to get the one-on-one time with them. However, it’s really important for me to spend time with my sons individually to help keep that mother and son bond strong. They just glow when they get mom all to themselves!
There are numerous benefits for taking your child on individual dates. Not only does it help strengthen your relationship with them, but also shows them that they are important, which helps boost their self-esteem. It’s the perfect time to ask your child about their day, who’s their best friend, what sport do they like playing, and what they want to be when they grow up. You can really learn a lot about them and their personality just by asking simple questions.
They also may feel more comfortable opening up with you when other family members aren’t around. There’s no sibling rivalry or the urge to compete for your attention, so you can have a stress free day without worrying about someone’s feeling getting hurt.
My boys have different preferences, so it’s nice to do something that they want to do and not something that they are “forced” to do with the rest of the family. I started making a list of all the things I could do with them and when I was done, I had a pretty long list with some fun ideas (some are seasonal).
I thought I’d share the list with you, to help inspire you to take your son(s) on a date.
Remember, it doesn’t have to be such a big ordeal and can even be spent at home. The main idea is spending time with them individually to help keep the lines of communication open and to create new memories for them.
At Home:
Explore the backyard
Have a picnic (indoors or out)
Movie marathon day
Play video games
Have a catch
Practice soccer skills
Build a fort in the living room
Craft day
Play hide-and-go-seek
Build a puzzle together
Play board games
Bake delicious treats
Dig in the dirt
Water fight
Star gaze
Have a dance party
Go on a treasure hunt
DIY project
Play light sabers
Cook together
Swim
Draw with chalk in the driveway
Read together
Out and About:
Miniature golfing
Go to the movies
Have a lunch/dinner date
Fly a kite
Play at the park
Go out for ice cream
Visit the zoo or local museum
Go bowling
Take a bike ride
Cooking class
Visit a toy store
Make sandcastles
Go to a sporting event
Go-karts
Bowling
Indoor rock climbing
Go for a long drive
Laser tag
Art class or pottery
Shopping trip
Visit a bookstore and pick out a few new books
Tennis tournament
Story time at the library
Geocaching
Going on dates with your son is still important to do, especially as they get older. This is when they start experiencing independence and by spending time with them it will give them the positive influence they need in their life. Even by insisting on spending quality time once a week, this will help show your son that you genuinely care. It can be as simple as watching a movie together, going out for ice cream or having a catch in the back yard. If you start date nights when they are young, they will hopefully embrace it, as they get older.
Here are a few date ideas for moms with older sons:
Trampoline park
Letterboxing
Geocaching
Farmer’s market
High school theater shows
Roller-skating
Roller-blading
Carnivals
Reptile shows
Concerts
Trip to the racetrack
Rent 4 wheelers and go riding through some trails
Rent a really nice exotic car for the day and tour the countryside
Monster truck rallies
Jet boat races
Skydiving (obviously when they are much older)
Zip lining
Skiing/snowboarding
Rent jet skis
Take kickboxing lessons
Build something cool
Driving range
For adventurous eaters try different restaurants
Hollywood Bowl (for the one who likes classical music)
Local live theater shows
Action movie
Hiking
Touch football
Go-karts
Fishing
Take a cooking class
Shoot hoops
Camping
Participate in a charity run
Sign up for a mud run
Take an overnight trip
Volunteer together
Go to a local historic museum
Stargaze together
Build a model rocket
Have a catch
Work on a car
Go to the arcade
Paint ball
Archery
I hope these ideas have inspired you to put a date night (or day) on the calendar with your son.
Photo: Andy Malmin/Flickr
Originally appeared at Life Without Pink
For Christmas I made my 14 and 11 year old boys a bunch of vouchers they can redeem for various things and I was delighted when they both said that their ‘Date With Mum” voucher was one of the very best ones. So we keep loosely talking about what we’ll do on our date (individually), but with so many weekends taken up with visitors or trips or school / sports events – I haven’t managed to have a date with either of them yet! You’ve inspired me. We’ll get the calendar out and book our dates in so other things… Read more »
Whereas I think Mom and son quality time is very important, I would quibble with the word ‘date’ – it just doesn’t seem like the right word and makes me cringe slightly. Just “day out” would suffice wouldn’t it? But perhaps it’s just become I’m British…”date” has romantic connotations.