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A Parent's Guide to Valentine's Day
for Kids, Tweens & Teens

Valentine's Day brings to mind presents, chocolate, flowers, cards, but most of all love.

February has been the month to celebrate love as far back as the Middle Ages. The exact history of Valentine's Day has been lost in the mists of time, but the meaning is not missed by anyone young or old!

Valentine's Day for kids & toddlers

Today, even small children enjoy this holiday dedicated to love and afffection.

Parents can help their children with Valentine's Day craft projects to write out homemade cards cut from colored construction paper. (Simply fold to paper in half then cut, on the folded side, half of a heart. It will open into a full heart shape where the message can be written.)

Or, get extra crafty with a cute "heart in hand" greeting made from your child's handprint and a heart shape ...with a hand-written greeting to a special person in their life!

Cookies are also simple enough for kids to make with a little help. Nestle Tollhouse Cookies mix bakes up perfectly. Get creative and combine a couple of different flavors together and make one huge heart shaped cookie that kids will love.

Valentine's Day for tweens

Valentine's Day for tweens and junior high age children gets a little trickier as friendship boundaries get blurry. Should gifts be exchanged? How expensive they should be? These are some of the more common questions asked by parents during what should be a fun, care-free holiday.

Take the pressure off youself - and your kids! - by keeping it light and suggesting a teddy bear, homemade cookies, or some chocolate as gifts for their object of affection.

Valentine's Day for teenagers

The same guidelines go for celebrating Valentine's Day for teenagers. Relationships can become more serious in the later teen years, so expensive gifts might be acceptable. If the young couple have only been dating for a couple of months, keep it light and humorous.

No one should feel lonely on St. Valentine's Day. For teenagers who have experienced their first heartbreak, remind them that this day is not only for couples, but for friends and family too! It is a holiday to celebrate love in all shapes and sizes, and it shoud be fun.

Good advice for anyone this time of year? It is NOT how many more Valentines you get than someone else — or how many less! Remember that it's quality not quantity that counts in life and love. The caring and friendship with which each Valentine is given is the most important measure on Valentine's... or any day!

also see - > Quick & Easy Ideas for Kids Valentine's Day Parties

More about Valentine's Day for kids and teens around the Web:

14 Valentine's Day party games and activities for kids - Browse great ideas, recipes, fun activities and more at this guide from Hallmark.com

The History Channel - Valentines Day - Fun statistics on marraige and how much chocolate is consumed each year in the United States. Interesting tales on some of the great romances in history and on St. Valentine himself.