Life is so busy when you grow up. You have to balance your time between a career that is going to take you places and a family that gives you a reason to breathe.

The fact that life is packed with things to keep you busy shouldn't stop you from enjoying yourself with your children. Children pick up on it when we are too busy to play, or to read, or to sit and just listen to the gobbledegook they come out with. They know when they need to be quiet to let you be, and that draws it into the spotlight: you need time with your kids.

Carving out that time? Not always easy. However, your children are the biggest priority that you have in your life, and it doesn't matter whether housework or anything else has to take a back seat; your children should be the forefront of your mind. There is nothing else in the world that takes is so important, which is why you need to start thinking of time with your kids as a privilege.

Introducing “date night” for you and your children gives you the chance to have concentrated time together, filling each other in on your day and just spending quality time watching them laugh and smile.

There are so many ways to spend date night with the kids, and it all depends on their age. You can do date nights in a way that they understand from around age 5 and up, and a five-year-old date night is going to look very different from the one that you have with your fifteen year old! Your five year old may want a McDonalds and Disney movie trivia questions and answers as part of a game, whereas your fifteen year old may want the same game but a more upmarket option for their meal out. The whole point is that you get that one on one time which is often rare because of school, work and general life commitments.

Date night can consist of an evening at a spa, getting nails done, seeing a sports game or even just heading to the theatre for a show that’s appropriate for their age and interests.

You get the chance to talk without the interruption of other children (and partners) and you can make more of an effort to understand them and what they’re feeling. You reserve date night for your partner to unload on each other, laugh and eat delicious food. Children can benefit from this as much as the grown-ups can, and they end up feeling secure and happy because of the attention you’ve given them.

The healthiest parent/child relationships are the ones that are carefully nurtured, and date nights can really help you here. There’s nothing standing in your way, and you can get the kids involved in the choices of what to do for date night, too. It’s a family effort, and you will reap the rewards later!