7 Date Night Do’s and Don’ts (Part 1)

Don’t: Poke at the things you wish were different in your spouse

 Consider date nights a time to get away from the tensions you’ve been juggling and instead pour into and affirm each other. Yes, there is a need to have purposeful conversations on certain date nights. And we’ll talk in Part 2 about setting time aside to troubleshoot areas where your finances, sex life, or parenting approaches might be out of sync – and how to do that in a healthy way. But unless this particular date night is a “troubleshooting” time, be purposeful about not poking at those things.

Instead, brainstorm that vacation, listen to live music in the park, or share a booth at the local pizza joint and watch the big game. If you nurture each other as friends, you’ll find it’s much, much easier to later tackle the hard topics without the defensiveness that can creep in with criticism.