It shouldn’t come as a surprise that kids who feel loved are generally more loving. The kindness and affection you show your children has a correlation to how they treat their family, friends and peers. Valentine’s day is a great occasion to intentionally love on your kids. As a parent or grandparent, you can plan a grand gesture or just spend some quality time together. Here are a few ideas to help you plan the perfect Valentine’s Day with your kids or grandkids.
Do what they like.
This is the most important part to planning a special day with little ones. At an early age, they already know what kinds of things they like to do. While some kids experience unique enjoyment from accompanying a parent on errands, they probably would not pick a trip to the grocery store over playing with toys with their parent or grandparent.
Try something out of the ordinary.
If you’ve seen the movie Princess Diaries, you likely remember the scene where Princess Mia and her mother are throwing darts at balloons filled with paint. Most of us don’t have the space or ability to do something like that, but if you can create something similar, your kids will never forget it.
Mother/Son, Daddy/Daughter Date.
I have always been a fan of this concept. Make the date as formal or informal as you want and shower them with love and undivided attention.
Include your child’s top love languages.
Do you know the ways your child feels most loved? There are five love languages, which were coined by Dr. Gary Chapman, author of The Five Love Languages of Children: Quality Time, Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Receiving Gifts, and Acts of Service. If you don’t know which of these categories makes your child feel most loved, have them take this quiz! After you have the results, consider how you can incorporate their top love language into your Valentine’s Day plans.
Give a gift.
If you’ve just discovered that your child loves receiving gifts and experiences lots of love that way, consider giving them the gift of an experience with you! Tickets to a performance, the zoo or a museum could be fun.
Start a new tradition.
It’s never too late to start a new Valentine’s Day tradition. Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing:
-Photoshoot
-Dinner and a movie
-Movie marathon
-Scavenger hunt
-Crafts
-Random acts of kindness to others
-Pulling a date idea out of a jar
Check out my other blogs for more ideas on how to love and support your children!
