It’s date week in our house. While it may sound funny to use the word date for anyone but a significant other, just take a moment to think about what a date is.

A date is time with one other person, time that you take out of your schedule to get to know them better and to spend time with them.

Every year around this time, we schedule dates with each of our children before everyone goes back to school and life transitions back to our standard routine.

Sometimes this means going to dinner, sometimes it might even mean going to a movie too. You could go for a walk to get ice cream or spend time at home cooking dinner together while everyone else is out of the house.

An appointed time to spend additional quality time with someone.

This is precisely why we date our kids. Not only us, but their grandparents too.

We knew when our kids were young, that having three of them would not only mean the obvious of spending time as a family — but finding times to be one on one with each of them.

Nurturing that parent and child relationship and developing a bond with each of them, not just a family bond.

When our kids grow older, I want them to realize that I value each of them as an individual, and that it’s not just a general love that I have for my family.

I want to know their interests, their likes, dislikes and quirks, to better relate to them.

Sure, this can happen while playing a board game with your family, but there’s something about having time with just one person that’s incredibly beneficial.

Honestly, when you have three kids, it’s also relaxing.

I am not complaining a bit. I absolutely adore having the number of children we have, and we chose to have this number, but a moment where your attention can be undivided, and not just by other kids, but divided by house chores, duties and responsibilities that come with being a parent of any number of children.

Get those kids out of the house and find a way to enjoy them without distraction. Childhood goes by far too fast, and we need to make an effort to enjoy it, not just look back on memories and hope that we did.

This doesn’t need to be an added expense either. A picnic lunch down by the creek, or a small snack and walk down one of our local creeks to explore, or even taking some popsicles to the playground are all great ideas.

I say it all the time, but we live in such a beautiful area that is incredibly taken for granted at times, let’s not forget that we have lakes, beaches, creeks, playgrounds and nature trails galore.