Do you desperately need to get out for a date night, but you can’t afford to pay a sitter to watch your children? If so, it’s time to get creative with these six ways to find child care when you can’t afford a sitter.
Creative Child Care Solutions When You Can’t Afford a Sitter
1. Swap Child Care with a Friend. Do you have friends or relatives with children near the same age as yours? If so, offer to trade child care with each other. You take all the kids one night, and the other set of parents takes all the kids another night. The kids will have a ball hanging out together, and both sets of parents will enjoy a free night away.
2. Ask Relatives for Help. Another great option is to ask a relative for help. Relatives such as aunts and grandmas are often more than happy to watch little ones for free just so they can spend time with them.
3. Barter Other Services. If your friends and family prefer to be paid for watching your kids and you have no extra money to spare, why not propose a trade? For example, you could do some lawn work, give piano lessons or help clean their house in exchange for some quality child care.
4. Church Events. Do you attend a church that regularly has activities for kids? If so, this is a great way to get a free night out. Drop your teenagers off at a lock-in or take your elementary-aged kids to the Wednesday night Bible classes. Whether you stay for adult activities or head out and do something else, you’ll be glad to know your kids are in good hands.
5. Date Night In. While going out without the kids is nice sometimes, no one says you HAVE to go out for date night. Why not try out an at-home date night idea instead? Whether you have a video game marathon or you stay up late reading together, you can have a lot of fun right at home after the kids are asleep.
6. Take the Kids. Lastly, if you MUST get out of the house and you have no one to watch your children, why not just take them with you? While bringing kids will rule out some more adult options, there are still plenty of activities you can do with your children in tow. Go bowling, watch a drive-in movie or go get ice cream. Your children are only young once; you might as well make the most out of it!
How often are you able to get away without the children? What are your secrets for getting away?
Teacher turned work-at-home mom, Brittany loves using her words to help people improve their faith, marriage and parenting. And with one awesome husband and two very rambunctious little boys, she’s always got a lot to say! In addition to writing for Love and Marriage, she also owns her own site, Equipping Godly Women, where she regularly shares helpful tips, tricks and encouragement to help women be the amazing women God created them to be.
Violet says
Me and a few friends in my neighborhood are apart of a babysitting co op. It’s great! We all have our “shift” to cover; 9am- noon or noon-3pm monday-friday. It’s a ticket system, 1 ticket per kid, per hr. where the other ladies kids are welcome to come to your house. Then, on their shift, you can drop your kids off there! (Limited number of course:) Its been a lifesaver with apointments and the kids get to be good friends:)