Some of you may not know this, but it is difficult to find a babysitter when you have 6 children. Hard to believe, I know, but it's true. People are not knocking down our door asking to babysit for us. Wimps. Just kidding. Kinda.
Anyway, this year for Valentine's Day, hubby and I are going out on a bonafide date!! It will be our first time in *years* to be out without having anyone with us who needs help cutting their meat. "How?" you ask. We feel like our oldest is finally old enough and mature enough to be left in charge for a couple of hours while we enjoy a meal at a nearby restaurant.
You have to know that in our small town, all destinations are within 5 minutes of our house. So, we plan to put in a video, make some threats of severe punishment for any monkey business, and, with our cell phones in hand, enjoy an evening out. WOOHOO!!
There you have my tip for Works For Me Wednesday. Grow your children old enough and responsible enough that they can hold down the fort for a couple of hours while you're gone. Works for me....finally!!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Works For Me Wednesday: Babysitting
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15 comments:
Date nights out alone are so important! I hope you have a fabulous time!
Ah, one day, one day. I can tell by your blog and posts that your oldest is definitely responsible enough. Good for you! Enjoy your special date!
Nikki All OUT Valentine's Day
As the oldest child of 6, I always dreaded those times (the once or twice a year occasions) when my parents both left for a couple hours. I disliked the babysitters they got (usually my grandma), not because I didn't like HER but because things just didn't seem right without my parents (especially my mom!) home.
It was even worse, in my opinion, when I was left "in charge". Having a number of children close in age meant that I wasn't too much older than some of my brothers, who could be mean at times. Things just never seemed right without Mom at home. :)
Anyway, reading your post just brought back memories, that's all. :) I hope you have a great time, and I'm sure your family is well-prepared. :)
I can so totally relate to your post! We have 5 kids and yes, babysitters have yet to come knocking on the door. A whole new world opened up for us when my oldest got old enough and mature enough to be left to watch the crew while we went on a date. It was as though a burden was lifted, a new season in life had arrived.
One thing that worked better for us than strong threats to the younger ones that they better not give the baby sitter any trouble - I ask my younger ones to be the baby sitter's assistant. If when I return, the baby sitter tells me that they have done a good job, they receive a star for their efforts. (then once they have earned a certain # of stars they can be redeemed for a special treat.) It worked like a charm. Haven't had any trouble with my littler guys giving their sister a hard time.
Enjoy your evening. I hope it's wondeful time.
Yes, that's one of the perks of having lots of kids--free babysitting, eventually.
I only have two (and it's still not simple to find a babysitter), but they are 5 1/2 years apart, so my daughter has helped care for my son for a long time. Not only is she building some great skills, but in a few years, she will be able to babysit him.
Ohh... yeah... I can't wait. When my children returned from grandma's this last time... we had toilet issues. Eeekkk... Waaay too much sugar. Good grief. °Ü°
CAN'T WAIT!!! How old is old enoug ya think? 10? (Just kidding!!) HA LOL..
I remember when our oldest was ready to babysit...it was like we stepped into a new world.
Have fun!
Tracy
In our house, we call this "built-in babysitting" and baby, I waited years for it! :-) We've never had any trouble with our kids, to the amazement of our friends with much smaller sibling groups. We try to make it fun for them too. I get them a special treat to make for dinner like Pizza Bites (or something else I would never make for dinner) and a video from Blockbuster or the library. I think they feel "grown up" being left alone. We feel good knowing they can easily reach us by cell phone- not like the "old days" when the babysitter had to call the movie theater in an emergency! Anyway, it works for me too, and the more frequent dating has been great for the two of us :-)
Thats funny! LOL But I'm there, too! Most of our families won't take all 7 kids, even! But we have 5 old enough to babysit for at least an hour or more. And its GREAT.
One thing we did when they were little was to budget babysitting money, and we contracted a teen for every Thur. night, and she got paid that amount if there were 4 or 5 thurs, and she got paid if we didn't go out, so we went most of the time. Even if it was to sit at a restaurant and share one soda, lol.
Though we only have 3, I felt such liberation when my oldest got old enough to leave with his brothers. I always hated trying to find baby-sitters. Being in the cell-phone age helps a lot, knowing they can reach me at any time and place if they need to.
I can't wait until my children are old enough!! :)
I only have three, 6, 3 and 1, but still it is difficult to find a babysitter because most of my friends have at least three kids as well!
It will be nice when they are older and we can get out for a couple hours, too.
Have a happy Valentine's Day!
This is exciting! Enjoy it! :O) Our dates are few, but recently we have started swapping babysitting with another family, and now we are getting out a couple times a month. Now we're just trying to get used to finding affordable things to do away from home. :) It's all new again as I am sure it will REALLY be for you! You are blessed! Let us know how it goes.
Have a fabulous date! We have a few years yet before our little one is ready to be left in charge of herself (much less anyone else).
Excellent idea! I'll check back in about nine years to let you know how it works. In the meantime, enjoy your date. :)
WOW!! Have a great time out. It's been about a year since we made it out. Someday... (grin)
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