Showing Your Children LOVE on Valentine's Day!

LOVE is in the AIR!!! I LOVE it! The day of LOVE is upon us.  It’s funny that we pick one day to show LOVE when we really do LOVE all year long.

Teaching children LOVE is easy.  When they are born we kiss all over them, hug them, change them, feed them, play with them, soothe them, care for them.  All in the name of LOVE.  We show them LOVE by the way we serve them.  Boom!

They learn about LOVE by seeing it in action.  My girls were almost 5 years apart in age.  When Camryn (now 21) was born Caroline (now 25) was almost 5 and starting to learn the concept of what Valentine’s Day was all about.  The “Day” came around and I was still homebound after having a C-section and not feeling up to putting on real clothes (many of you understand this thought process) so we opted to stay home.  But it being the day of LOVE and all, I wanted to make it special.  So I birthed a new “tradition” of bringing out the fine china, serving pieces, etc and making a full-fledged nice, nice dinner for the family. 
My husband, Brad, brought home flowers for all of his girls and we played romantic music and had a great night.  He danced with each of us separately and made each “girl” feel so special.  NOTHING would ever replace this wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s.  In fact, going to a restaurant to celebrate Valentine’s Day isn’t even on our daughter’s radar today.  It MUST be celebrated at home!

We love our children so much it’s not hard to show them LOVE on Valentine’s Day, but we want to be intentional.  What works in YOUR family is the question you need to ask yourselves.  Take out? Reservations? Burgers on the grill? Handwritten Valentine’s cards for each family member? Dessert for dinner?

It’s a great time to show your family how much you LOVE them.  Intentionality is key.  We get so busy during the year with household chores, work, practices, obligations, etc that it’s a fun day to just be together and love on each other.  It was good for our girls to see their father bring me flowers and dance with me.  It was the only day they saw him bring me flowers (for the most part) so can I get an AMEN that they needed to see it? Ha! But it was good.  Brad and I didn’t need time to ourselves this particular day.  We were intentional in our dating the rest of the year. 

Fun things to consider with younger children might be to encourage the acronym for LOVE as they describe their feelings for each family member – Mom, you are a listener, you’re observant, very nice and elegant! You get the picture.  Have the artistic child make special placemats, or menus for the table.  Or maybe a flower arrangement.  Have the chef prepare a special recipe she’s seen on Pinterest.  Kids too young to cook or draw? Then sing songs about LOVE together and read some love stories from the Bible.  Also, allowing your children to hear you speak words of affirmation and LOVE toward your spouse is beautiful.  Share how you met.  Your LOVE story. 

Writing each family member a LOVE note is so special.  Valentine’s Day is a great time to write it down.  These become treasures through the years. 

Celebrating all day long is fun too.  Heart shaped pancakes and PB&J.  Love notes in school lunch. 

Serving others is the greatest way to show LOVE.  I would ask my children, “How can I serve you?” Just that phrasing changes everything.  Sets the tone for a heart full of service.

Start thinking today how you can LOVE your children and family on Valentine’s Day.  Be intentional.  Start traditions.  And be yourself. 

Life Lessons from SkyMoms Parenting Mentor Lisa Clark