This time of year, we often find ourselves in a winter slumber waiting for something to warm us up. Cue the month of February, and you’ve got a formal month to express your love to those around you!
While Valentine’s Day has typically been synonymous with romantic love, it is also a day set aside for expressing our love to our children. Celebrate the love you have for your children with these simple ideas that will win big hearts:
Leave Love Notes Throughout the Day
Leaving sticky notes, cards or pieces of colored paper with encouraging words for kids to see is a great way to remind them that they are loved. Noting specific characteristics you love will give them a great boost of self-esteem.
Start the Day Off Right
Create a Valentine’s Day breakfast that will leave their tummies and their hearts feeling full! Adorn the menu with pink and red heart-shaped treats (waffles or pancakes), fresh fruit, strawberry smoothies and pink milk. Special name-card holders let each child know there is a special spot reserved just for them!
Mail a Love Letter to Each Child
Instead of handing them a Valentine’s Day card, why not send it in the mail instead? Leave off your name and address in the return spot of the envelope to build the suspense for your child.
Surprise Them for Lunch at School
Younger children will be ecstatic to see you in the cafeteria waiting with their favorite lunch from Chick-Fil-A or Wendy’s. For older kids, meeting them in the office with their favorite take-out food is sure to make them feel special and thought of.
Let Little Ones Be Special Helpers
Inviting young children to help you in the kitchen, at the grocery store or with the laundry is a simple way to make a deposit in their love bank. Let them tear up the salad, carry the clean clothes and set the table. Affirm them for their efforts no matter what it looks like!
Make a Love Photo Album
Say Cheese! Print off some of your favorite pictures with your kids and write corresponding notes letting them know why the picture is special to you.
Schedule a Date This one’s not for your spouse; it’s for your kids! Take each child on a special “date” with just Mommy or Daddy. Let your youngster pick where to go and what to do. If your son suggests eating with dinos at T-Rex followed by a game of bowling, enjoy it just as much as he will.
Siblings can also get in on the fun for Valentine’s Day! At the beginning of the month, families draw names for “secret Valentines”. Each child decorates a brown bag with his or her name on it, and your “secret Valentine” will daily leave a special note, favorite piece of candy, an offer to take on a chore, etc. Do the big reveal on Valentine’s Day!
Siblings can also spread the love by making a Sibling Love Chain.
Designate a color to each child and cut up strips of paper from that color. Siblings can finish the sentence for one another, “I love you because….” Glue each link together and display the colorful chain in the house for the month of February. At the end of the month, read each link aloud.
Whether it’s enjoying an idea mentioned above or one you’ve thought of on your own, children love to be loved. No matter what you do, remember to say those three special words that mean so much…I love you!
Marisa Frymire lives in Overland Park with her family.