Powell — Darin Berkley and his 12-year-old son, Eli, chat about friends, baseball and life over a simple fast food meal.
"Sometimes it's 30 minutes or an hour. We just go out to eat or something like that, and sometimes it's more involved," said Berkley.
The father from Powell makes it a point to go on monthly dates with each of his three children.
"I had no idea that it would turn into something like it did," he said.
Berkley got the idea when Eli was four.
A baby brother was on the way, so they planned an outing, just the two of them.
"We came home and said how fun that was and that we should do it again the next month," said Berkley.
And they did.
The pair have since gone on more than 100 dates.
"You name it, we've done it. We've been to baseball games, we've seen a couple UT games, we've gone to Chick-Fil-A, gone to the library," said Eli.
Every month, Berkley and his wife plan monthly dates with each of their three children.
Each date is different. Every milestone is special.
"We had started taking a picture before we left for each date, but we wanted something to kind of capture the time," said Berkley.
They wrote down the details on a chalkboard and shared their experiences online.
Parents all over the world started noticing.
"People really relate to this, and people really gravitate to the idea of spending time with their kids," said Berkley. "People say how do you do that with three kids or how can I do that with five kids? I think the busier that we are the more important it is for us to do it. It doesn't have to be expensive."
Eli, almost a teenager, said it has changed his relationship with his dad.
"It's brought us closer, and it's given me the ability to talk to him more fluently," said Eli. "He means the world to me."
He is already planning to carry on the tradition with his children.
"It's the single greatest decision that I've made as a parent," said Berkley. "I cannot imagine being any closer to my children."
Berkley has come up with nearly one thousand different ways to spend time with your children.
To read more ideas, click here.