Now that summer is here, I think it’s the perfect time to take a more playful/fun approach to dating. Even if you’re looking for a relationship. Sometimes we get bogged down by all the bad dates and high expectations – isn’t it good when you just can relax and have a good time again?
I’m happy to share a guest post by Heather Smith from Nanny.net, who has a great and unique perspective on dating since she’s an ex-nanny. Sometimes, it’s best to approach things through the eyes of a child again…enjoy!
Being a nanny means you’re around kids all day long… and sometimes nights and weekends too. After all, your job revolves around them. So it should come as no surprise that, as a nanny, there are a lot of parallels you find that can be drawn between kids, adults, and life. Dating is no different, and there are a lot of things over the years that I’ve learned from kids that can be applied to dating.
- Always have open and honest communication
Little kids have no filter. They tell you exactly what’s on their minds without a second thought. However as we get older we start to craft our responses to elicit a certain response from our dates, partners, and spouses, and somewhere along the way the honest communication lines can become a little blurred. Having open and honest communication, (albeit with a little more tact than kids have!), is something we should strive to reinstate and is what the most successful relationships are built on. - Have some fun with it
Being serious all the time is no fun at all, and your relationship will suffer if you don’t approach it with some playfulness! Kids spend the majority of their days playing; adults spend the majority of their days working. To top it off, we come home and we work, we work at relationships, we work at life. Don’t work too hard at dating too – take a break from working at it and just have some fun with it! - Laugh together
One of the most endearing qualities of little kids is that they have this innate ability to laugh with one another, even when they’ve just met. Serious conversations are great for building a relationship, but being able to laugh with one another is even better. If you can’t laugh together then is it really worth pursuing?
- Get mad, get over it
We’ve all seen how angry children get when someone wrongs them. The fits that they can throw are impressive, to say the least. But they rarely hold onto that anger, and can usually be found happily interacting with the offending person within a matter of hours, sometimes even minutes. As we get older we tend to hold onto anger though, which isn’t healthy or fun. Get mad and then get over it when something goes wrong; it’s not worth holding onto all that negativity.
- Get outside and get moving. As enthralled as kids are with video games these days, they still can be pretty easily persuaded to get outside where they can then end up playing for hours. The majority of us spend 8+ hours a day locked inside an office or indoors somewhere, so why would you want to plan all of your dates indoors too? Get adventurous and get outside – go hiking, rock-climbing, or biking. The couple that sweats together stays together… or something like that.
Dating is a lot like being a kid again, especially as you navigate through new and potential relationship waters for the first time. It’s not a bad idea to take a cue from the kiddos and approach dating with a little more of a relaxed approach. Be a kid again and have some fun with it!
Heather Smith is an ex-nanny. Passionate about thought leadership and writing, Heather regularly contributes to various career, social media, public relations, branding, and parenting blogs/websites. She also provides value to nanny service by giving advice on site design as well as the features and functionality to provide more and more value to nannies and families across the U.S. and Canada. She is available at H.smith7295 [at] gmail.com.
About Kelly Seal
Kelly is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles, CA. She blogs about dating, relationships, personal growth and what "healthy living" means to her. You can follow her on Google+, Twitter @kellyseal or through her website www.kellyseal.com.
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