Do you spend time alone with your individual kids?

Zenya

I get a lot of one/one time with Sara (2) when C (4) is at school.  But almost no time with C alone.  The few times I've forced it he's polite and engaged but generally thinks that life is just better when Sara is there.  Like I took him to the mall around Christmas time and he was like "this is fun.  Sara would like it.  It's fun when she's here".  I guess I'm lame.

 

What's it like at your house? 

joseysbride

R and I do a ton of stuff together just the two of us because it is a million times easier to take her places than it is C.  So, if I am going to go do something or run an errand, I usually leave C with my dh and take R because I feel better leaving the house if I take at least one kid.

Mrs.JDD

I get more alone time with Claire in big chunks, but I put Jack to bed every single night (he freaks out and screams if it's not me) so he gets me to himself every night for about 40 minutes.  I try to take Claire to see my aunt in NYC here and there, and if I go without my husband I typically take just Claire and leave Jack home.  That has happened 3 times-last July, January, and coming up in April.  I'm thinking about planning daycare days this summer (I'm a teacher) so that I have each child 1 morning alone.  My husband works a lot in the winter, but less in the spring, so now that he's home more on weekends we are trying to do the "divide and conquer" thing   I think time spent individually with each child is important!

hikerbeth

DD and I just took a trip together to my sister's bridal shower in CA.  Every few weeks either DH or I will try to do something special/alone with DD.

DD will often come to the gym with me (to play in the playroom while I work) even if DH is home/DS isn't coming along.  It's only a little alone time in the car there and back, but it's a good time to talk.

I expect after DS is done breastfeeding we'll get even more "girl time away."

MrsStubbs

hikerbeth:

DD and I just took a trip together to my sister's bridal shower in CA.  Every few weeks either DH or I will try to do something special/alone with DD.

Something like this would be awesome.

It's not very often that I just get one on one time with DD.

AnnapolisLari

I get time alone with Katherine when Matthew is at school and she's like a different kid.

It's hard to get time alone with M other than when she's taking a nap. I try to take him places alone but 95% of the time it's me and both kids.

Andrewsgal

I have alone time with J on Mondays when E is at school then they are both in school/MDO wed and Fri. DH and I make it a point to try to spend one on one time with each kid. E and I have girls nights while the guys do guys night, usually it involved a pizza place and nail painting the guys go to a pizza place and best buy (J loves the store:). E goes to t-ball with DH then dinner once or twice a week whiile J and I chill. I love my one on one time with each kid.

peekaboo716

Not very much, now that I think about it. I get time with DD while DS is in his various activities, but the rest of the time, she's with us. DS gets me alone while she naps, because DH is usually out and about. Sometimes we will divide and conquer errands, so DH will get DS and I will get DD. Sometimes.

goodheartedmommy

Yes. I plan time to do fun things with them, or DH and I will send 2 on the weekend to spend the night with the grandparents while having two on one time with 1 kid. I'll take a child to the grocery store and stop to watch the river or go to the playground for awhile. I definitely make time for each child to have quality time with me. I like to let one of them stay up later than the others about once/week and then they get to sleep in bed with me.

GinandTonic

More so with DD than with DS.  He's in school all day every day and she's home with me on T/Th (I work MWF).  We get A LOT of alone time.  It's kind of nice - she's sweeter when he isn't around to compete with.

Tomorrow is a half day for him though and I'm leaving her in daycare and taking the afternoon off.  We'll get lunch, we have to buy a present for a party he has that night, maybe a haircut for him.  I was going to take him to see Hop, but DH has expressed wanting to take them both over the weekend, so we won't.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to it.  I miss him sometimes.

Zenya

Taking him away is actually a great idea.  I wish I had thought of that.  Now it'll be ages before I can do it b/c I'm having another baby.  

I have to come up with something.  Maybe if I did it routinely he'd get into it. 

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Littlejen22

DD gets me alone for 2.5 hours a day when DS is in school but honestly it is not one-on-one time b/c I am doing stuff in the house, etc.  I have more dates with DS, like once every other month or so it will be something more special, and at night I will run to the store with him.  Like Josey'sbride said it is just easier to get out with the oldest for me.

mamarazzi

When it was just two, H and I would often each take one on the weekends.  During the week, I'd have three mornings with just DS2 while DS1 was at school.  It was so nice.  DS2 was like a different kid and we had such a nice time together.  DS1 and I didn't get time too often, but we'd try to do stuff with him either one-on-one or both and I and him once a month or so.

Now that the baby is here, I will often take one boy and the baby, leaving H with one kid.  Like, last night, I went spring clothes shopping with DS1 and the baby.  We went for ice cream after.  It was nice.

DandelionMom

I stagger their bedtimes so they each get 20-30 min daily of one on one time with me for reading/snuggling.  And once a month or so DH and I make a point to take each kid out on our own for something -- Gracie likes going to Starbucks, J likes going to the mall, and K likes going to the bookstore.

Jodi&Joe

I don't get much one on one time with Joey.  I do with Cam quite often.  Joe gets a lot of one on one time with each of them (at different times, if that didn't make sense)!  LOL

Anyway -- Joey would just rather go with daddy than, for example, go shopping with mommy (which is when I normally get my one on one time with Cam).  But this post makes me sad that I don't get more of this with my Booga -- I need to do something with just him.  And soon!  He's growing up so fast ....

 

damn it.  This post just made me cry! 

 

joseysbride

I find it funny to hear most say that when they are with one they are so much better.  C is much worse behaved if it is just him and I.  I don't know why.  It's like R keeps him entertained, and he gets bored when it's just us.

I'm planning to take my dd on a trip to the Cities, hopefully, for her 5th birthday gift.  I thought it would be fun to take her to the American Girl doll store and do all of that.  Since C has been born, we've never gone on away just the two of us.

shouldbworkin

Pretty much the same.  DS has karate on Thurs and Sunday school on Sun so I was trying to take him swimming alone on THurs after karate and DD swimming on Sun when he's at Sunday school.  That lasted a week.  Neither really wanted to do it without the other there.

I do take them out alone to run errands sometimes on the weekends and leave the other at home with DH or send the other on an errand with DH.  That works a little better for us.  But sometimes they end up fighting about who gets to go with me.  :sigh: