5 Amazing Reasons Every Couple Needs a Weekend without the Kids

Getting time away alone as a couple is absolutely essential to strengthening your marriage. Date nights, morning coffee, windows of time during the week while the kids may be at school - all important. But, a weekend without the kids is incredible. Just a few days overnight without the little ones works wonders for your relationship. In fact, Jamie and I recently returned from a weekend away ourselves, and we can’t stress enough how important it is to make this part of your marriage annually. For us, this romantic beach weekend away was 72-or-so-hours of rest, relaxation, intimacy, great conversation, prayer, and perhaps most important – fun.  

Whether you're run-down raising the kids or just navigating a busy life, taking time away as a couple is crucial for keeping your relationship strong. It’s easy to make excuses and allow our busyness to get in the way, or our finances, work, or tasks around the house, but make this a priority and I assure you it will be healthy for your marriage.

Here are five compelling reasons you should plan an annual spouse-only trip away. 

1. Strengthen Your Connection as Spouses, Not Just Parents

When you're constantly in parent mode, it’s easy to forget that you were a couple first. And that you still are. A weekend away gives you this time to focus on each other as spouses, not just as co-parents. It is critical to re-focus yourselves as marriage partners. You are parents, yes, but your marriage is front and center to this. Your marriage comes first. Straight up. A trip is a great opportunity to reconnect and remind yourselves why you got together in the first place. These shared experiences outside of your parenting roles create memories you can cherish and reflect on throughout the year.

2. Foster Better Communication

Being away from the everyday distractions and daily stress of work, kids, schedules and home life allows you to really connect. A quiet dinner, a long walk on the beach, or even just lounging by the pool gives you uninterrupted time to open-up about things that might normally get lost in the shuffle of daily life. Good communication is the foundation of any strong relationship, we can all agree to this, but we must create the space.

3. Revitalize Romance and Intimacy

Even the simple change of scenery can do wonders for your romantic life. The physical distance from home and getting out of your bedroom and into a weekend place is amazing. When you’re not worried about school schedules, weekend chores, let alone work deadlines, there’s more room for romance and intimacy. And newness in general can truly provide a spark in your sex life with your spouse. A getaway is the perfect opportunity to reignite this passion in your relationship and remind yourselves that you’re not just roommates running a household—you’re life-long partners too.

4. Declutter Your Minds and Recharge

Life at home can feel chaotic, with endless schedules, to-do lists, and responsibilities. Taking a break helps clear your minds, reduce stress, and recharge your batteries. Time away in general is healthy every so often. Trips, Family vacations and long weekends are essential to maintain balance with your work and life at home as well as build fun memories with your family. Recharging is vitally important. Time with our partner is no different. On a weekend with your spouse, you come back feeling refreshed, more focused, and ready to tackle whatever comes your way. And this mental decluttering isn’t just good for your marriage; it benefits your entire family when you return with renewed energy and a positive outlook.

5. Build Trust with Your Support Network

I won’t miss the importance of this point. Some of you reading this are at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to finding help with your kids. I’m sorry. Perhaps you don’t live in proximity to family. Or sadly your family members are unreliable or estranged and can’t be trusted with your little ones. We can relate to part of this, and it is NOT to be downplayed. The safety and wellbeing of your children is of utmost importance. We are fortunate enough to have one set of grandparents locally that is incredibly reliable and loving. Our kids absolutely love to be at their grandparent’s house and the grandparents love to have them.

This is a huge sticking point with couples, and we’ve heard directly of enormous fears that one or both spouses have around this. I understand. It is scary. Especially if you’ve never done it. But, to be objective, the alternate is that fear controls the situation and the massive risk down the road is that you never do this, and your children one day leave the house and you wonder what happened. Fostering this relationship with your spouse is essential. Think objectively about the situation with your kids while you would be away. Is it truly as “risky” as you think? Are your fears warranted? Assess this. 

Leaving your kids with someone you trust while you’re away can strengthen your relationship with your support network. Whether it’s a family member, close friend, or a reliable sitter, trusting someone else to care for your children while you reconnect as a couple helps build trust both ways. You get peace of mind knowing your kids are in good hands, which allows you to fully enjoy your time away.

This is clearly an important topic Jamie and I are passionate about if you can’t tell. We hit our 12th anniversary this summer and might have missed only one annual trip during this span. This is a priority for us. Flat-out. We would both sacrifice so many things out of the year to make this happen. We believe in it that much. We save money, cut expenses, plan way ahead while also remaining super flexible with parents who will watch the kids while we’re gone. Because of this we can pull it off every year or so. We’ve had some incredible travel experiences where we’ve budgeted more money, piggy-backed onto work trip once, and always been creative with how we plan. BUT, we’ve also done a single night away locally one year, and when cash was extra tight, a trip where we ate at Chick-fil-A and takeout pizza in the hotel room instead of the trendy spot we would have preferred. Point is we made it happen. It’s NOT about how much you spend or how elaborate your trip is. It’s about being alone together. Everyone can make this happen.

To round it out…set aside the excuses. Talk to your spouse about how you can make this happen and get planning. Making time for a yearly getaway as a couple is one of the best investments you can make in your relationship. It opens up communication, fosters intimacy, and helps you de-stress from the chaos of everyday life. It emphasizes you as husband and wife and not as just mom and dad. If you haven’t made this a priority yet, I encourage you to schedule a trip today. Your marriage—and your family—will be better for it!