What if the tension you’re feeling at home isn’t just about your kids, but about the connection you’ve lost with your spouse?

As parents, we spend so much time pouring into our children that our marriage often gets whatever is left over—if anything at all. Date nights feel inconvenient, expensive, or impossible, especially when life is busy and you’re already exhausted.

But here’s the truth: when your marriage relationship suffers, everything in your home feels harder. It affects your patience, your parenting, and even the emotional tone of your family.

In this episode of Parents Making Time, Anthony and Jennifer share a real season when parenting challenges with their youngest strained not just their energy, but their connection as a couple. What changed everything wasn’t a big breakthrough or perfect circumstances. It was intentional time together, even when it felt inconvenient, and the ripple effects were immediate.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:

• Why prioritizing your marriage actually makes you a better parent (and creates a healthier home for your kids)
• The hidden consequences of neglecting intentional time with your spouse, including emotional disconnection and transactional parenting
• Practical, realistic ways to make date night happen in every season of life, whether you’re short on time, money, babysitters, or energy
  
  
  

When you nurture your marriage, you’re not choosing your spouse over your kids—you’re choosing a stronger family culture for everyone. Sometimes the most powerful intentional parenting move you can make is a date night.

Easily improve your intentional parenting efforts at mealtime with our FREE resource, Dinner Conversation Starters.

Download our FREE resource, 30-Second Micro Moments of Intention with Your Kids, created for busy parents like you who need easy, actionable ways to have daily meaningful connections with their kids in less than a minute!

Parenting Questions? Email us at parentsmakingtime@gmail.com (Please note, your question may be featured on the show).

For parenting inspiration, time management ideas, and encouragement for families, follow the hosts' individual accounts:

Anthony Craiker: Instagram | LinkedIn

Jennifer Craiker: Instagram

Interested in joining our free online parenting community? Send us a DM to receive an invite!

Enjoy the show? Leave a rating & review: Apple | Spotify

What if the reason parenting feels so overwhelming isn’t because you’re doing it wrong, but because you’re chasing a version of “balance” that was never realistic to begin with?

So many busy parents feel like they’re failing because life doesn’t look perfectly balanced — work, kids, marriage, home, hobbies, all neatly managed at once. When reality doesn’t match that picture, guilt and stress creep in fast.

In today’s episode of Parents Making Time, we challenge the myth of balance in parenting and offer a healthier, more sustainable approach--an approach rooted in intentional parenting, presence, and priorities that actually work in real family life. Instead of chasing perfection, we invite you to trade balance for rhythm and learn how to ride the waves of parenting without burning out.

BY THE TIME YOU FINISH LISTENING, YOU’LL DISCOVER:

• Why the idea of “balance” often creates more pressure, guilt, and anxiety for busy parents
• How to reframe parenting as seasons and rhythms — not a checklist or a constant juggling act
• Practical ways to stay present with your kids and family, even during the most demanding seasons of life

Whether you’re navigating a demanding career, raising kids, managing a household, or simply trying to be more intentional with the time you have, this episode will help you release unrealistic expectations and find more joy, connection, and peace in your parenting journey.

Easily improve your intentional parenting efforts at mealtime with our FREE resource, Dinner Conversation Starters.

Download our FREE resource, 30-Second Micro Moments of Intention with Your Kids, created for busy parents like you who need easy, actionable ways to have daily meaningful connections with their kids in less than a minute!

Parenting Questions? Email us at parentsmakingtime@gmail.com (Please note, your question may be featured on the show).

For parenting inspiration, time management ideas, and encouragement for families, follow the hosts' individual accounts:

Anthony Craiker: Instagram | LinkedIn

Jennifer Craiker: Instagram

Interested in joining our free online parenting community? Send us a DM to receive an invite!

Enjoy the show? Leave a rating & review: Apple | Spotify

No new episode of Parents Making Time this week. Merry Christmas to you and your family! Make time to become the parent you want to be!

Easily improve your intentional parenting efforts at mealtime with our FREE resource, Dinner Conversation Starters.

Download our FREE resource, 30-Second Micro Moments of Intention with Your Kids, created for busy parents like you who need easy, actionable ways to have daily meaningful connections with their kids in less than a minute!

Parenting Questions? Email us at parentsmakingtime@gmail.com (Please note, your question may be featured on the show).

For parenting inspiration, time management ideas, and encouragement for families, follow the hosts' individual accounts:

Anthony Craiker: Instagram | LinkedIn

Jennifer Craiker: Instagram

Interested in joining our free online parenting community? Send us a DM to receive an invite!

Enjoy the show? Leave a rating & review: Apple | Spotify