We don’t have a regular babysitter. It’s possible that were it not for photographs, my husband and I might just forget what the other looks like. We’re good at eating together and carving out family time, but when it comes to dating, fuggedabotit.
Last weekend, on a whim, I called my sister-in-law and proposed a swap. She and her husband would come hang with my kids for a few hours and then, in turn, she’d dump her son with us for the next few (adjacent) hours. The winds were blowing in the right direction and it worked out well for all involved.
The four parents earned a few hours without refereeing, negotiating, bartering, cooking, cleaning, monitoring, preparing, recovering or explaining. The kids got a few hours with their cousin(s) as well as their favorite aunt and uncle.
I look forward to doing it again.
How about you? Do you swap? Do you have a regular sitter? Do you have a parent who’s always willing to cover you? Do you partake in a babysitting co-op? Has it been a decade since you’ve had a date? Inquiring minds…
by Megin Hatch
[tags]babysitting, childcare, couple time, co-op, kid swap, parenting, kids, children, parents, dating, relationships, marriage [/tags]
Photo graciously provided by Right Eye, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
4 responses so far ↓
IntheFastLane // Jan 23, 2008 at 12:03 pm
We used to have a college student relative that we could always rely on. But, she has moved away and now has a job and all that. We tend to rely on my in-laws for babysitting, which means we don’t go out all that often.
A.L. Hatch // Jan 23, 2008 at 7:41 pm
I would die w/o our sitter. DIE. This week she took The Poo to the local indoor playground for three hours while I was blissfully alone in the house.
She is worth every single penny and then some.
AmyL // Jan 23, 2008 at 7:42 pm
We swap with our friends. Last year each couple got to go out one Friday a month. This year it’s been more of every other just because of scheduling issues. Overall it works out pretty well.
Stu Mark // Jan 24, 2008 at 9:49 am
We make lemonade out of an ugly lemon: My wife is divorced from our kids’ father. He’s a nice enough guy and genuinely cares about them, so he’s in the picture a lot. As such, we have never had a babysitter, just shared custody. Leslie and I have two or three nights a week that we can use as date night (or veg and watch tv night). It sucks that my wife and I and our kids are not a fully closed circle, but on the other hand, I wouldn’t change my life for all the Eucalyptus in Australia.
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