Celebrating Valentine’s Day as a family

Valentine’s Day is not only about romance but could also be used to teach the younger generation the importance of caring and treating others with kindness.

“When we have disagreements and it so happens our children are around, Mike and I turn our switches on and become intentional about what we want to say and we think how we should say it that would not upset any of us and the children. This Valentine’s Day, we tell our children that we love them even more and why so that they understand. Children nowadays are smart. The more they understand things and feelings, the better equipped they are when they grow up, become adults, and eventually find a spouse.”
—Karen Benavente, San Jose

“There is a saying that your sons and daughters will love other people with the love and respect they see from their parents while growing up, right? Our children are 2, 4, and 7 years old and we make them see how Linda and I are bonded, how we talk to each other and how affectionate we are. We say I love you to them directly but we also want our actions to show tha.”
—Eric Adriano, Garapan

“I am a stay-at-home mom and I felt that more during the pandemic. My son, Jack, turned 4 last year and being with him 24/7 was a challenge but I love it. Part of our activity that started last year was baking together. I picked up baking due to quarantine and Jack would see me watch videos and mix ingredients in a bowl. Slowly I taught him how to do it with me. This Valentine’s Day, he told me wants to bake a vanilla cake for his Dad and asked me if he can help. My heart felt a pinch of happiness because this gave me a different meaning about Valentine’s Day.”
—Vannie Garcia, Navy Hill

“My husband and I order a lot of stuff online. For me, I get a lot of clothes but for every new clothing I get, I take one old clothing from the cabinet and put it in a ‘Karidat’ bag until it gets filled. Once filled, we donate it. My daughter watches me do this whole process and picked up something from it. She knows it is for other people that do not have things that we have. Last Christmas, she got tons of new toys and she put some old toys in a bag to give away. Our Valentine’s weekend will be busy trying to see what else we can put in the bag and my daughter is leading us.”
—Betty Reyes, Sadog Tasi