How Often Do You… (Part 2)

This is part two of a three part series on “How Often Do You _” The _ being “something” with your child(ren).  Geared towards the divorced dads out there.   Answers may vary based on your custody agreement, especially if you have primary physical custody.  You can read part 1 here.

How often do you take your child(ren) to their favorite place?

Every child has a place they love the most.  It could be their swing in the backyard to the Chuck E Cheese that is right up the road.  Any way that you cut it, they will have lasting memories of these places and the time they spend with you.  Children have this wonderful imagination that take them to many places that we, as adults, lose track of.

Many of my fondest memories from my childhood are with my dad and older brother.  We used to spend most of the fall hunting deer and turkey with bow or with rifle.  The fact that I froze my ass off didn’t ruin the occasions, nor did getting up before the sun has even pretended to raise above the Missouri hills, I had a lot of fun and have great memories.

How much is too much?

I leave this up to you.  One of my daughter’s favorite places to go is Dairy Queen.  The perfect daddy-daughter date takes place at the “Hot Eats, Cool Treats” that’s a few blocks away.  We used to go every couple of weeks to have dinner and ice cream.  As an independent little three and four year old she always wanted to fill up her on cup at the drink dispenser.  Now that she’s five (and really tall) she can do it herself for the most part and I think that makes her happier then anything else.

Frequency is important.  Too much and they could burn out on their favorite place.  Have you ever eaten a certain food or gone to a certain place so much that you started to hate it?  That happens to kids too.  The older they get the more likely.  I think the real youngsters just love going so much they don’t care if you do it every day!

On the other hand, if you go too far between visits you lose that opportunity to share something simple and meaningful with them.  It could be different for me, since my daughter lives in San Antonio (and I live in Omaha) it’s harder to do the things she wants to do through-out the year.  I try to plan out most of my summer to include the places she likes here so that we can continue to build up these memories.

So I encourage you to think about those places your child likes to go and use it as a reward for good behavior and as a place to spend with your kids that they also enjoy.  Build up a routine with your kids and give them something to look forward to that they can enjoy with you.