Bonding with your little one is a lifelong endeavor and with busy schedules it may be hard to maintain that connection. Carving out some special time for you and your child is important when it comes to having quality time together.

It can be a struggle to find that one-on-one time especially if your family consists of a partner and multiple children. Let your child know they are important to you by schedule a parent-child date with them.

Even if you are a single parent, it’s important to shake things up and do things you wouldn’t normally do. This helps your child feel loved and unique.

Now that the weather has warmed up, try one (or more) of these fun summer parent-child date ideas:

Pizza Movie Night

Monday to Friday can be a long stretch, so nothing rounds out the week perfectly like a pizza movie night. Let your little one pick the movie and hit the kitchen to make some signature style pizzas of your own. Check out this super easy recipe kids at any age can put together!

Picnic in the Park

Get your child to help pack up a picnic and hit the park! You can dine out at a local nature trail or playground. Have your little one lend a hand in making sandwiches and snacks – and don’t forget a blanket!

Do Some Stargazing

Speaking of doing things out of the norm, an evening of stargazing is a fun and unique experience for you and your little one. Download some star maps and enjoy picking out some constellations.

Go for Ice Cream

Ice cream is the perfect treat to beat the summer heat. Set a goal to visit every ice cream in your city and make a list of every flavor you and your little one want to try. It’ll be fun discovering new shops and new flavors!

Take a Hidden Places Tour

Type the name of your city or town into Google along with “hidden places” to discover some unique gems in your area. Take a picture of your child with the interesting landmarks and areas you find.

Try a New Restaurant 

While fast food may be your regular eat out fair, make a special night out of trying a new restaurant. You can even challenge yourselves to try a new restaurant each week or month.

Pitch in for a Community Cleanup

Spend time outdoors and help your local community with a quick cleanup. Grab a garbage bags and some gloves and do a trash pickup! Contact local churches or schools to see if they anything organized for  cleanup.

Attend an Outdoor Concert 

Summertime is rife with outdoor festivals, markets and concerts. Check out the summer schedule for your town and head to an outdoor concert. This is great for little ones since they are not confined inside, the noise isn’t too loud and you can wander about if they get antsy.

Rules for Dating Your Kids

• Make it a priority. Life can get in the way but make sure you put effort into making the dates happen.
• No phones. You can bend the rules a bit here if you’re taking pictures but try to avoid taking calls, answering texts and other distractions.
• Leave the house. With the exception of a pizza movie night (because this not a routine activity), you should try to get out and about.
• No expensive trips. The point is to make these dates easy to execute, so avoid big fancy trips to theme parks, all day events, etc.

The most important thing about having a parent-child date this summer is the time you get to spend with your little one. Whatever activity you choose to do doesn’t have to be wildly exciting – or wildly expensive. Sometimes the simplest things are the most enjoyable!

Simply choose an activity that allows you and your child to have one-on-one time together to talk, laugh and catch up on life. The point is to schedule special time with your little one that makes them feel loved.