Babysitting is one of the best ways to make money, because you get to have fun while doing so. But there are a lot of other advantages, too.

My boyfriend and I have been offering to babysit for each couple at our church over the past four or five months. We aren't looking for money. We are looking for a way to get plugged in at our church and invest in the people there in a really tangible, practical way. So we are gifting couples a date night by offering to babysit for them at no charge (If you go to our church and we haven't offered this to you yet, don't worry, you're on our list!)

This is obviously time consuming, but it is worth it in every way. I'm not here to say that you should always give away free babysitting nights, but I am convinced that babysitting with your significant other will do a world of good for your relationship. Here's why.

1. You learn to be creative together

Together you have to entertain one or more kids, and this is a great way to use your different personalities and interests to be the best babysitters ever. Babysitting with someone else takes some of the pressure off of you to figure everything out and to keep things under control while also being super fun. You can come up with crafts, games, and other activities together that all of the kids will enjoy. You get to see each other's creative sides in ways you don't normally get to see!

2. You learn about each other's strengths and weaknesses

So we're talking about your boyfriend here: someone who will hopefully become your husband (and dating for any other purpose is pointless, but that topic is for another day), and you might have children together one day. Learning how the two of you react to different situations while babysitting, who is more strict or more laid back, who is more creative, who is more likely to take control of a situation, etc., tells you so much about what your future might be like together.

There's a huge difference between parenting your own kids and babysitting for a couple hours, but babysitting together certainly gives you a taste of what your strengths and weaknesses are when it comes to caring for children and making decisions that impact more than just the two of you.

3. You get to see your boyfriend play with little kids

There are very few things that are more attractive than this. When a guy fully embraces his babysitter role by letting kids sit on his lap, laughing with them, playing games with them, and taking care of their needs, it tells so much about his character. For just the warm fuzzies it gives you to watch your boyfriend interact with children, babysit together.

4. You get to know other families

My boyfriend and I have gotten to know parents and their children so much better by babysitting together. It allows parents to see how my boyfriend and I interact with each other as well as giving us a chance to get to know the parents. It provides a great way to form long-lasting relationships with the children and their parents!

5. You see different parenting styles

You may be years from being parents yourselves, but seeing how different people parent (sometimes based simply on how the kids act), gives a lot of insight into what works for each family. Every family is different! Having a glimpse at different parenting styles gives you a look into the challenges of parenting kids who respond differently to different punishments, making rules, encouraging creativity, and so much else!

You can learn a lot about the parents personally by babysitting their kids, and you can learn a lot about parenting by watching how the kids act. Not just for looking forward to being parents one day, but seeing these different takes on parenting impacts how you and boyfriend interact with children even now, and gives you an appreciation for all the hard decisions parents have to make.

6. Babysitting together gives you memories that will last a lifetime

Nothing is worse than experiencing something so memorable all by yourself, whether it be hilarious or sentimental. That kind of thing happens all the time while babysitting, and so many of the "You'll never believe what little Timmy said!" stories are also "You had to be there" stories. When you and your boyfriend babysit together, it allows you to save up some extra cash, but more importantly, it allows you to experience these memories together and to leave an imprint on the children's lives after just a couple of hours.

Take a job that can be tiring and yet so fun, and make it even more enjoyable and more beneficial by experiencing it with the person you are the closest to. Babysitting together allows you to make relationships with the children and the parents, but ultimately strengthens your relationship with your boyfriend. What reward is better than that?!