There are many ways to spend time with your older children one on one that will entertain you both! Read below to find our top ten date ideas for mom (or dad) and older child.
Eleven years of being an only child can make acclimating to a baby brother or sister difficult. My biggest fear when we found out we were pregnant was that my oldest would feel neglected. There are many ways we actively try to keep him involved and also ensure he gets his alone time with us.
One thing we do to ensure he gets the same much needed attention as the baby is we try to set aside time for just him. We are still working on this aspect and if I am being transparent (because that is what my site is about, honesty) we were slacking for the first several months. But we are human and having a baby is exhausting as you all know. We recognized where we were failing and have been striving to improve it. That is all parenting is right? Learn from your mistakes and do the best you can! Which we did and have made some major improvements and will continue to do so as time moves on.
There are so many things that you can do with your kids that give them some one-on-one time. But let’s be real, preteens and even more so teenagers are hard to please sometimes or are initially not interested. To make things a little easier I have included a list of some date ideas for Mom (or Dad) and older child. Enjoy!
- Drive in Movie or Movie Night at Home
I don’t know what it is about dinner and a movie but it is always fun and relaxing. If possible we will take our oldest out without the baby and have dinner (usually pizza, his favorite) and then go to the theater. But even those nights where one of us is working at the station and there’s no babysitter in sight, we enjoy a good movie. The baby goes down relatively early and after he is asleep we pop some popcorn, pull out the candy and relax in the comfort of our own home with a title my son usually picks.
- Ax Throwing
What teen doesn’t want to throw axes? Admit it, this sounds like fun for everyone! Once again a little competition mixed with learning a new skill, and maybe even getting out a little aggression that those teen hormones are brewing up all make for a great date.
- Creating/ Experimenting
My son has always loved science and creating things. One way I spend time with him, even when the baby is home, is by creating things or doing science experiments. Luckily, our dining room is next to the playroom. So the baby can play while we work on something. Our recent creation was a hot wheels track made out of items we found around the house and garage. Hot Wheels do not typically appeal to him, but building a track with trial and error kept us both entertained for hours. We also have a ridiculous amount of science experiments that we do, as he says in his own words “science is my favorite subject”.
- Amusement/ Water Park
Let’s face it, who doesn’t love an entire day filled with adrenaline pumping, heart pounding rides. After a day at the amusement park, my son talked about it for days, maybe even weeks. He loved every minute and so did my husband and I.
- Board games
After the baby goes to sleep one of our family favorites is board games. It instills a little competition, bragging rights, sportsmanship and overall family fun. Board games are also readily available at our house making them a go to for family night. Some of our favorites are Clue, Unicorns (Kid version), Monopoly and card games.
- Professional Sports Game
While more for my husband and son’s date, going to see a professional sports game has been a recent highlight in my son’s life. They went to an Astro’s game and did the early tour. My son got to play catch with one of the pitchers and even got to keep the ball! They both had such a great time that I am willing to bet there are more games in our future.
- Bowling
If you have read my previous posts, I am once again mentioning bowling. It is because for some reason, unbeknown to me, my son absolutely loves it. Taking him bowling not only allows some family friendly competition but also burns some active energy. Of course he always gets his root beer and pizza!
- Fishing
Both my husband and son are fishing fanatics. It is no wonder this is a great “date” for them. I also enjoy fishing just not to the same extreme and will gladly stay home with the baby so they can have a boy’s day. They usually stop at a gas station for some gatorades and snacks and head to the nearest pond for a few hour break.
- Laser Tag/ VR
Being a technology addict, both of these activities are my son’s favorites. Laser tag onces again instills a little friendly competition while running actively around. VR takes you to another world and lets you explore without leaving the city. Luckily, most places have both VR and Laser Tag so you don’t have to choose!
- Five Below Free For all
Let’s be real, older kids still like toys. The annoying part is it seems that they like buying them more so than playing with them. So what better of a compromise to let them buy a few things from five below? It costs less than the traditional stores and gives them a sense of freedom to buy anything they want. After his “shopping spree” we end the day with lunch.
If you enjoyed our list of date ideas for mom (or dad) and older child and are local to Houston, please check out Indoor play for Kids in Houston for local recommendations.
