Have you ever cringed when going to pay the babysitter? I love date nights and I enjoy occasional time away from my kiddo – but I really, really hate the cost of childcare!
Let’s look at the cost of the average date night:
$50 for dinner
$50 for activity
$60 for babysitter (4 hours @ $15/hr)
$110 TOTAL
As a one-income family, this is not something we can afford on a monthly basis. However, eliminating date nights is not something our marriage can afford either.
My husband and I try to commit to one date night (or afternoon activity) per month. This time is for just the two of us – no kiddo.
We had date nights all the time before kids. Friday night would roll around, and we would spontaneously decide to go out for dinner. Or we’d have no plans for Saturday night and decide on an impromptu night at the movie theater.
I know you get it! But this is not the type of life most of us parents lead anymore. We have to schedule a babysitter ahead of time in order to get this type of alone time together.
We’ve identified the problem: we need time alone without the kids, BUT babysitters are expensive! But what is the solution?
Check out these free alternatives to hiring a babysitter that allow you to still benefit from that much needed time away from your kiddos!
This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you use them, at no cost to you.
1. Turn to Family
Personally, my family is my strongest support system. We are so fortunate to live near both sets of our parents and other family members in our hometown. Honestly, I sometimes wonder how parents manage to balance life without family nearby. I would be lost without them!
While it is human nature to not want to burden others, it is important to remember that your kids’ grandparents (and other family members) likely WANT to spend time with them and won’t mind a few hours here or there.
However, I never want to overtax anyone in helping us juggle work-life balance, so I try not to solely rely on any one form of free babysitters.
2. Swap Babysitting with a Friend
We have a few friends who have kids around the same age, which makes for a great experience when sharing babysitting duties. There are two simple ways you could swap babysitting with another couple.
- Split the day in half. One couple watches both sets of kids while the other couple enjoys kid-free time. Then switch!
- Choose different date nights. Maybe this Saturday my husband and I watch both families of kiddos, and then next Saturday we switch.
3. Form a Babysitting Co-Op with Other Parents
What I love most about this type of babysitting co-op is that everyone wins. Gather a few other interested parents to create a group where you can swap babysitting times.
Maybe there are a few parents from your kids’ class, or families you have grown close with at the local park, or a group from your church.
No matter who is in your group, take turns watching the group of kids. If there are four families in your group, you watch all four families of kids while the other parents enjoy a night out. Then in return, you’ll get three nights out with free babysitting!
Another amazing part of this free alternative to babysitting is the relationships that grow between you and the other parents. I don’t know about you, but I’m always looking for more mom friends.
4. Friends without Kids
We have lots of friends who do not yet have kids, and they are always asking us if they can come over and spend some time with our little guy!
Um, YES! Here’s his stuff…we’ll be back at 9pm!
In all seriousness, we often think that asking someone to watch our kids is a burden, but it’s easy to forget that to some people it’s a blessing and a joy.
Share open and honest conversations with your friends and family. Make sure they know that they can say no and it will not affect your relationship!
>> Set up your friends with a list of fun activities they can do with your kids!
5. Local Play Spaces
Various play spaces have special nights when you can drop off your kids for a set period of time. Of course, judge for yourself how comfortable you are with the establishment before deciding to leave your kids there.
For example, our local YMCA offers monthly events for kids when their parents can drop them off for three hours of parent-free fun! That means parents have three hours of kid-free fun too!
6. Request the Gift of Babysitting
As I get older, I find that there isn’t much I need for my birthday or Christmas anymore. However, I try to think of meaningful gifts to suggest to those who ask for a wish list.
For the past few years, my husband and I have asked for restaurant gift cards, since eating out is always the first thing to get cut from our budget when we analyze our expenses. We are passionate about maintaining our family budget!
Now that we are looking for kid-free date nights, we want to ask for date night babysitting coupons! Again – it’s a win-win! They would love to hang with our kids for a few hours, and we are happy for some alone time out of the house!
7. Exchange Services
You may have a skill that will benefit a teen, like tutoring an academic subject or coaching a sport. Consider exchanging these services for free babysitting. Win-win!
8. Double Date and Share a Babysitter
While not completely free, this will lessen the cost of a babysitter! We don’t get together with friends terribly often, so it can be fun to go out to dinner together or do a fun activity.
The money we save on a shared babysitter allows us to do something fun with friends! We love seeing savings in one area of our budget that allows us to splurge in another. Check out how our family budgets to save money!
9. In-Home Date Night
If all else fails, put the kids to bed and have yourselves an at-home date night! It’s not the perfect solution and it’s not as ideal as getting to leave the house kid-free, but it certainly works when you are out of other options!
Some of my favorite at-home date nights are:
- Challenge each other to a cook-off.
- Have a game or movie night.
- Indulge in a wine tasting.
- Host a picnic on the living room floor.
- Create a bucket list of adventures for the next year. The kids can even create a bucket list too!
>> Bonus: The money saved on staying in can be used on a “splurge” date night another month! We love to see how the money we save can be spent in better ways!
Have you discovered another way to save money on babysitters? I would love to hear your suggestions, as I am always looking for money-saving tips!
About the Author
These are fantastic ideas I hadn’t even considered before. We have run into the babysitting dilemma and I hate always asking the same grandparents to watch our kids! A babysitting co-op, swap, or requesting babysitting as a gift are super great ideas! Love this!
I run into the exact same problem! I don’t want to burden anyone, but then our parents remind us that they WANT to be involved. It’s always good to share the love though with other avenues for babysitting 🙂
Amazing suggestions and ideas. I’m looking forward to a date night with my hubby!
Great ideas! Babysitters are so hard for us to find since we do not have family local. Before COVID we would take a day off together while the kid were in school. We’d grab lunch and stroll through town to window shop, or in the marina.
I have friends who do the same thing! Hopefully things are back to normal soon and you can do that again.
These are awesome ideas. I like the idea of sharing a babysitter with another couple.
These are great ideas. My favorite babysitter is moving away for the summer. I will definitely try some of these!
My husband & I do an in-home date night almost every week! It’s rare when we do go out. We are blessed to have my parents in town so they offer to watch her so we can go out. But I love at home date nights because it’s so much cheaper than anything else.
You’re totally right! Even without the cost of a babysitter, eating out and/or doing something fun is often so expensive!