Valentine's Day is the one day every year when people go out of their way to express their love for one another. Be it through flowers, chocolates, jewelry, or heartfelt cards, many go all out to let those special in their life know how much they care about them. Parents are no exception to this. They get enjoyment out of letting their kids know how much they are loved and make the day a bit more special because of it. As such, some participate in the Valentine Heart Attack and once parents see just how much it means to kids for doing it, it is clear why it should become a yearly tradition.
The Valentine's Day Heart Attack is an activity that begins on February 1 and runs through February 14. Each day, parents place a heart on their kids' doors that states what it is they love about them. This daily affirmation of love started over a decade ago when a blog post appeared on Skip To My Lou explaining how simple, yet effective the expressions are written on heart-shaped cut-outs were when it came to boosting not only mood but confidence in kids. Because of this, Valentine's Day Heart Attack has become more popular every year, with kids, tweens, and teens alike loving the attention being showered on them for the two weeks leading to Valentine's Day.
Here is why parents should make Valentine's Day Heart Attack a yearly tradition.
Kids Love To Be Reminded About How Special They Are
Most kids are aware that their parents love them, many times because of the ritual of saying, "I love you" when going to bed at night. Because this becomes routine, however, the impact of just how much kids are loved can be lost. But, by participating in the Valentine's Day Heart Attack, the daily expression of love makes it so that there is no question in kids' minds as to just how much they are loved.
According to Parents, kids need to have the reminder that they are loved, especially if they have siblings with whom they have to share attention and affection. And while most parents will carve time out of the day for each individual child, it never hurts to enforce just how much love parents have for their children, regardless of their age.
By placing a heart on their door every day for 14 days this February, it will be made abundantly clear just how much love there is. And by writing the notes annually, kids will look forward to being showered in love, and having their self-esteem boosted for half of the month of February.
Helps To Ease Anxieties About Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day brings up different emotions for everyone. For some, it is excitement, for others, it is dread. Others still may be ambivalent to the day. But when there are daily words of why a person is loved posted daily, it is hard not to have a soft place for the holiday.
While Valentine's Day is known as the day of love, for some, it can bring on anxiety. This, according to HuffPost, is because kids may have a fear of rejection believing their classmates will not think they are important enough to give a Valentine to. For teens, it could be caused by not having their affections being requited by their love interest on the day of love. But knowing that there is an expression of love waiting for them on their bedroom door when they return from school can help to relieve some of that anxiety, putting a positive spin on what may have been a holiday they would have rather forgotten. And because of this, the two weeks of expressions of love should be made into a yearly tradition.
Kids Get A Boost In Confidence With Every Heart They Read
Sometimes people have a hard time seeing what qualities make them special. Tweens and teens especially struggle with this. But when those traits are expressly written out for all to see, it can cause a confidence boost of epic proportions.
According to Understood, the amount of confidence that a person has is a direct reflection of the amount of self-esteem that they have. And with self-esteem being the way people determine their value in the world, it is clear just how important it is that parents help their kids build their self-esteem to become confident in all endeavors of their lives.
By making Valentine's Day Heart Attack a yearly tradition, it gives parents the opportunity to remind their kids just how special they are and what qualities they possess that make them amazing. By seeing themselves through their parents' eyes, kids may get a renewed sense of confidence that will ensure that they have positive self-esteem. And that positive self-esteem will pay off in spades, per the publication, as kids become secure in who they are as they age.
Source: Parents, Skip To My Lou, HuffPost, Understood