Cartoon of a boy holding a poster with a heart on it and a jaded girl. The girl says, “Do you realize that heart isn’t anatomically correct?”
Saint Valentine’s Day can arouse some negative emotions, especially when people feel pressured to impress their loved one with extravagant gifts.
But if we treat Valentine’s Day right, it’s a great opportunity for kids to see love in action. Here are five reasons why kids need Valentine’s Day.
- Kids need to see love is far more than the physical attraction popular culture tries to make it out to be. Valentine’s Day may focus on the romantic side of love. But it can also be an opportunity to show selfless love (agapé), family/affection love (storge) or brotherly/friendship love (philia)
- Kids need to receive a note of encouragement. We all need to hear something positive about ourselves once in a while
- It’s an opportunity for kids to hear why love is so great (and challenging). Take the time to read 1 Corinthians 13 with your child.
- Kids need to see that love is more than a feeling but is  action.  We can love even the unlovely, the grumpy and those family members that get on our nerves!
- And kids need lots of candy hearts. Come on! Who doesn’t need candy hearts with corny sayings on them?
Valentine’s Day is a great reminder that love goes far beyond physical attraction and getting our selfish needs met. After all, when it comes down to it, we all need faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.