Primary children give out secret admirer cards and count who has the most.
Secondary? Will it still be so innocent? Will they look at this day to have sex because it’s so romantic? Maybe they have no plans but end up there anyway .. because it’s so romantic.
What should we be making our kids aware of in the light of the most romantic day of the year?
Illegal until 16
Babies
Diseases
And if they are still going do it .... should we provide the condoms? Or birth control pills? Or do we want grandkids...... because ‘Grandkids make life more grand!’ What are the safety tips for kids?
So, the story goes that a priest (St Valentine) secretly married couples in a time it was outlawed. He was killed for doing this, and we celebrate him in the romantic month of February on the 14th.
Small tokens of affection began being exchanged in the late 17th century and this has grown into a massive business. 1 billion valentine cards, 35 million chocolate hearts and 198 million rose bouquets are exchanged for the day! An average of £130 spent per person! AND an average of 220 000 marriage proposals.
Whilst we may like to moan about the money spent and the commercial ‘crimes against humanity’ it alights, is there anything positive?
Well ….. Children have the chance to see their parents making an effort with each other, exchanging gifts and possibly affection which may not be the case the rest of the year. Doctors tell us the chocolate, red wine and expressions of love play a huge role to increase blood flow, thus minimising Congestive heart failure – although 1 of 365 days, I wonder if this makes a difference.
What are the kids doing with the message they are receiving from this one day of the year?
Parenting teens is not always easy and using ‘parenting resources’ I’ve discovered the Instagram of my 12 year old son is full of the surrounding pictures. Thus begs the question of …. What are children learning from us and/or Instagram marketing, and what should we be highlighting to them?
Do we want them to be thinking they need to spend money to receive love?
Do we want them thinking you need to get or give love gifts to get or give love?
Do we want them thinking we can fight and be mean the whole year round, as long as we are nice and loving on Valentines day?
Do we want them planning their romantic endeavour’s for that day?
So what should we teach them instead and which parenting websites do we get our information? Take them aside and explain the law says its illegal for any sexual interaction before the age of 16. And when they do start to have sex, its important to make use of condoms to avoid both diseases and babies. Should we tell them its important to plan for babies because they change your life so drastically and you may want to enjoy being young before going down that road? What about looking for a life partner? Is this the time for us to be trying to explain the complexity of dating (for teens), and warning of the possibility of being with the wrong person for any length of time.
In Finland, Valentines Day is called Ystavanpaiva - which means Friendship Day ..... Maybe this is a better way to experience it
What do you think???
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