How To Date Your Spouse When You Can’t Get A Sitter

You know that just being alone with your spouse, with no kids around, is beneficial for your marriage. And it actually seems a pretty simple thing to do. You just make your schedules available for one night a week, and you find a babysitter to stay home with the kids.

However, what about when you just can’t find a sitter that you trust? What if you call and the sitter is already busy or gets sick?

Unlike what you may think, this doesn’t happen only to you. It has become quite common among couples, especially if you don’t live near family or travel fulltime, as we do. Other times, couples just can’t afford to hire a sitter. We’ve been there too! So then do you remain at home and just cancel everything you had planned for the night?

No! There are other options, you just need to think outside the box and find alternative ways to spend quality time with your spouse. Even though you can’t get the sitter you want or you just can’t afford one, there are always solutions to having a date with your spouse.

Wait For Bedtime

No matter how much you love being a parent and how much you love your children, it seems like a peace comes over the house when the kids are finally asleep. So I encourage you to take this opportunity for a special in-home date night. You can’t go out but there are plenty of things you can do at home. The important thing is you are alone and it’s time to enjoy each other. You can play a board game, share an ice cream bowl, anything that allows you to enjoy the moment together.

Need other ideas? Check out our Romance Calendar to give you some great, out-of-the-box ideas to spend time with your spouse. It’s free!

When Kids Are Busy

Many times during the day, kids are just busy playing with each other. So, you can take these brief moments, while always keeping an eye on them, and turn them into something special. Put a movie in after lunch and just sit on the porch to enjoy your dessert and coffee together.

Have A Lunch Date

If your children go to school, co-op, sports practice, or any other outside activities during the day, you can meet your spouse for a quick date. Although this may be tricky because of different schedules, if you plan ahead of time, you can avoid any problems.

Go For A Drive

Even though you’ll need to take your kids with you, the simple fact that you’re taking a drive can be a great experience. After all, if your child is still little, he will probably fall asleep during the drive. In the case he is older, you can always give him something to get him distracted while you enjoy some time together. We have even utilized headphones for the videos in the car to give us a little more peace when taking a drive together.

Play a Game Together

My husband and I love to play games. Board games. Card games. And even some video games. We have often put the kids to bed and had a fun night of games with just the two of us. The other great thing about playing a game together, we can do it right on our own bed, so it is a little more intimate and relaxed. With the bedroom door shut, our kids know it our time and we can just enjoy each other and have some laughs with a little competition thrown in for fun!

Take the 7-day Marriage Challenge

If you’re looking for a way to reconnect with your spouse, I highly suggest our marriage challenge. This 7-day marriage challenge is delivered directly to your inbox, which makes it easy to do. You can do the challenges as they are delivered or work on each over a period of time. These are just guidelines and encouragement to help you grow together in your marriage.