Spread love in the family this Valentine's Day: How to make your child feel special and loved

This Valentine's Day, why not think of a unique way to express your affection to your child? After all, it's not just a day for couples to celebrate love, but a day to recognize love in all forms. Love for your family, friends, and children. So, this Valentine's Day, let's celebrate 'love in the family'!

Take a look at how some parents are planning to express their love and affection for their children in unique ways on this special day.

But before that, let's understand the importance of expressing your love and affection to your child.

Why are love and affection important for a child?

According to a recent study, 'Parental warmth and flourishing in mid-life' by Chen et al, published in the Social Science & Medicine Journal in January 2019, children who experience positive parental affection are likely to be more successful later in life.

It is important for your child to know you care about him and love him. For this, you need to find ways to express your unconditional love for him. Such expressions of love:

• help you connect and bond with your child
• make your child feel safe and secure in your love
• enhance your child's emotional well-being
• develop confidence and self-esteem in your child
• improve parent-child communication
• improve your child's academic performance
• reduce behavioral and social problems in children

Love in the family: Special ways parents plan to show their love for their child

Let's now hear from parents around the world about how they are planning to celebrate this Valentine's Day with their children.

1. Plan a gift hamper

"My husband and I support each other and work together as a team to raise our kids, which is not an easy task. We always feel that our kids have enhanced the bonding between us as a couple. They have brought us closer and made us resilient. The children have also been very supportive and non-demanding during the tough pandemic situation last year. So, this Valentine's Day, we have decided to surprise them with a gift hamper. It will include books (based on value education), chocolates, trendy earphones (for their school online classes), a handmade card (with a message expressing our gratitude and love for them), and red roses. I am sure my ten-year-old daughter will be very happy to receive such unexpected gifts from us on Valentine's Day. My two-year-old kiddo would be more interested in the chocolates though! I will try to continue with this tradition of expressing our love and appreciation to our children, in a special way, every year."

- Jyoti Gupta, Pune

2. Gift a life-changing experience

"On Valentine's Day, I plan to enroll my daughter on a discovery flight. Aditi has always had a passion for aviation, and this is the perfect adventure that I have planned for her on this special day. During her flight, she will be given time to fly the plane alongside a pilot. This experience will also help her decide if this career suits her. She has always gone for uncommon paths, and I believe this will suit her punctuality, responsibility, and leadership skills. I also want her to know how invested I am in her passions and dreams - a perfect gift on a perfect day!"

- Latha Nair, USA

3. Go on a long drive

"Valentine's Day is around the corner - a day to cherish our love for someone special, and what better way than to spend some quality time with the love of my life - my daughter! Yes, daughters are so special. I plan to dedicate this "V-Day" to her by planning a long drive to the Blue Mountains, a two-hour drive from where we live, giving in to her choice of music (BTS band is what she is crazy about now) and having some in-depth conversations with her about life, her thoughts, her choices, and her plans. The point is to make the trip all about her and let her know how precious she is to me. At the end of the day, when we get back home, I hope I get to become her best friend - or in her words, her "honey bunny"!

- Shiny Pillai, Canada

4. Lend a helping hand

"Valentine's Day is a 'love-sharing' day for everyone! I have a grown-up son married and working abroad. My prayers are for him to be disciplined and to be a responsible citizen. Since his childhood days, he has accompanied me for social work, and he is aware of and learned many things like the value of money and family bonding. My motto is 'Practice what you preach'. So, this year, the surprise plan to make him happy is to donate an amount to trust on his behalf. I'm sure he would love this."

- Jayanthi Asokan, Chennai

5. Gift a poem

"To My Sweetheart Family:

Why not seven roses to express silent love on Rose Day?

Did I propose eight times to open my heart on Propose Day?

What if I offer nine chocolates to uplift the mood of true happiness on Chocolate Day?

Are ten teddies enough to express the cutest way of love on Teddy Day?

How could I forget to make eleven promises with a pure heart on Promise Day?

Do you know hugs are the purest expression of love that money fails to buy? Is it okay if I give twelve hugs on Hugs Day?

Would you allow me to give thirteen kisses on your cheeks and forehead on Kiss Day?

Why not cumulate 7 Roses, 8 Proposes, 9 Chocolates, 10 Teddies, 11 Promises, 12 Hugs, and 13 Kisses to celebrate the 14th creative expression on this lovely Valentine's Day?"

- Kanisha Shah, Vadodara

6. Plan a fancy living room setup

Kids complete us and our life! Our Valentine's Day celebration would surely be incomplete without them around. But, I'm not gonna take my kids out anywhere as 'stay home stay safe' is still resounding across the globe. I'm just planning for a simple yet fanciful living room makeover.

A dressed-up floor bed with four dining chairs placed on all four corners of the bed and a lovely net canopy draped over it is all I could think of for a quick and beautiful transformation! Then I'm gonna simply hang a few strings of artificial marigold garland across the dining chairs to decorate the floor bed. To complete this whimsical look, I'll stick warm white fairy lights around the floor bed and scatter multicolor fairy lights roughly on the canopy. Fairy lights certainly have a magical way of transforming any spot into a fairyland.

Well! What is Valentine's Day without roses and hearts? To lift up the love vibes, I'm gonna spread fresh rose petals all over the bed and fill the living room with heart-shaped balloons for my kids to play with. Next, I'll light my classy aroma burner to spread the amazing healing scents of essential oil. Finally, playing some relaxing background music will bring the entire setup to life!

I will then bring my hubby and kids blindfolded into the room and 'ta-da!' They will surely be surprised to see such a dreamy spot in their own living room! Some chitchats and some fun games without any gadgets with just the four of us enveloped in love under the canopy would make it a very unforgettable night for life! Well! This is my classic plan for Valentine's Day to celebrate as a family this year!

- B S Sudharshana, Rajapalayam

7. Rekindle happy memories

I have some wonderful, cherishable memories of Valentine's Day celebrations from when my children were little. It was such a joy to see their excitement while shopping for candies and creating Valentine's Day cards for their classmates and teachers. The handwritten notes from their classmates would read something like - "You are OSSUM!", "M glad you're my buddy," etc., which we still have as keepsakes. Now they are teenagers.

This year, my older one, a med student was with us for a few weeks only and is now back at her college hostel. I'm planning to surprise her by shipping some homemade snacks and a handmade card to appreciate her hard work.

For the younger one, I'm planning to prepare a nice dessert together and stay home as we are not going out these days due to the pandemic. My focus is to stay home, stay safe and stay happy.

- Roopa M, Bengaluru

8. Plan a get-together with friends or family

"Before the 'new normal' set in, our kids attended school while we went to the office. We also met friends, visited malls or the beach or the park, or just walked down the street. But, for almost a year now, we have been living within the four walls of our home. The initial euphoria of being at home together is now replaced with the desire to go back to the 'old normal'.

One of the best ways of expressing our love to kids this Valentine's Day would be to make them feel a semblance of normalcy. And, to make that happen, we plan to invite their friends over for a get-together and lunch. If the situation improves and the law permits, we look forward to spending time together at the beach."

- Arun Sharma, Chennai

9. Gift a time capsule

"This is something I've been planning to give my ten-year-old son for the last few years, but never really got to do it. I think this Valentine's Day will be perfect for this gift. My plan is to give him a sealed time capsule with instructions to open it only on his 21st birthday. I plan to place a letter containing my prayers for his well-being, wishes for his success in life, and a few lines about how much I'm blessed to have him as my son. I'll also include the lessons that life has taught me so that he could also learn from those."

- Sarah Raj, Chennai

Tips to express your love for your child this Valentine's Day

• Write special notes telling your child why she is so special. Leave them hidden in different places for your child to discover - under her pillow, under her plate, near her toothbrush, in her lunch box or school bag...
• Cook your child his favorite dish.
• Create a collage or an album with pictures of your child's memorable moments.
• Invite your child's best friend and throw a party (of course, keep social distancing in mind).
• Make some special time to spend with your child - walk together, play together, read together, watch a movie together, or grab some ice cream together... Let your child lead the way.
• A warm, loving hug.

We are so busy every day, we forget to take the time to tell our child, 'I love you'. This Valentine's Day make it a point to express your love to your child. Make it such a unique and memorable experience that your child will never forget that you love him for the rest of his life.

Try to regularly let your child know how special he is. Often a simple thank you, or even a little hug will let him know you love him and care about him. All your child needs is your unconditional LOVE, nothing more, nothing less!

In the comments section below, tell us what you are planning with your child for Valentine's Day. We love to hear from you.