Kids giving other kids valentines gifts

It normally falls in half term thankfully! I had a few kids give each other things but was in the playground after school. There is no way most teachers would let children go giving out presents in school time.

Don't overthink or make it a big deal for your DD though. Such is life!

I've never seen Valentine's Day (which is a load of old nonsense anyway) celebrated by children. It's really odd.

I'd usually say this was ick and definitely not something I would encourage, butttt my DS8 (who is very quiet and nerdy, and not a 'football' boy, and plays with the girls all the time, and gets picked on a bit by the boys) came home with EIGHT cards from the girls in his class today, some Lego, a Roblox voucher and loads of chocolates 😂 I've never seen anything like it!!!

He was utterly chuffed, and the cards were all beautifully written with girls telling him how kind and helpful he is etc. I thinkkk one of the girls is a bit of a queen bee and has a soft spot for him, and has noticed the boys pick on him, so used her popularity to rally her friends into making DS feel special today, and utterly ignoring all the other boys.

It's made his, and my, day/week/month/year.

So no, let the kids get appreciated by their friends for one day, I'm a big fan of it now!

That's very weird! Kids used to give out those miniature Valentine's cards and sweets to the whole class when I was in school, but not individual gifts until around year 7.

I'm OK with handmade Valentine's cards, I think. But actual shop-brought presents, which Reception kids aren't getting each other without significant parental involvement (indeed, one suspects active parental instigation) - you just wonder, what are the grown-ups thinking??

I completely missed the memo on this today. I actually thought it was someone's birthday at first but as I walked further in to the school I saw a sea of red envelopes. It was more "Galentines" which is just as ridiculous. DD (6) was disappointed she didn't give or receive a gift. Totally ridiculous if you ask me. I've also noticed lots of Valentine's Day clothes this year.

I was a kid in the early 70s and remember getting a crayoned valentines card with two boiled sweets stuck to it. I had never heard of valentines day at the time, but it wasn't a thing at all.

I also think it's bloody stupid OP. There should be a blanket ban on bringing gifts into school for this reason. It's just become a popularity contest for your little girl.

Not that relevant I know but I also roll my eyes at the "Keep away boys. Daddy is my Valentine" t-shifts and baby grows(!) too. Sigh... Let kids be kids!

Idiotic practice
School should have banned gift or whatever exchanges in school time

I really don’t like it either OP. My DD in a very small class of (16) and she came out with 3 bags of gifts and not all the girls got gifts, I found it quite baffling. My other DC said there was no exchange in their class which I prefer.

I used to come home with several cards and teddies. In the eighties too.

Poor DD. I have no idea why some parents push these things.

My DD got a card through the letter box once, from a boy at school, she was about 8 at the time. I didn't like it at all! And neither did she.

I still remember valentine's day being a popularity competition when I was in secondary school- with all the popular girls walking around with flowers and teddies.

It definitely seems bigger this year, probably just due to social media, but lots of friends have been posting big gift bags/ baskets full of gifts they've bought for their kids.

It's a bit weird.
I don't have kids and feel I would struggle to follow such stuff.
On the other hand, I would definitely have been "the odd one out" in my time!
❤️

We had a Valentine's 'postbox' at my school when I was that age, and that was in the early 1980s. And we made the cards at school - I remember being shown how to cut out a heart from a piece of paper folded down the middle. I also remember getting given a box of After Eights by a boy once when I was about 10, but my recollection of that was just that I was completely mortified for some reason.

I was surprised the immediate assumption was boys buys for girls rather than for any good friend. A couple of boys in my sons class brought flowers for girls but nothing for boys or girls buying for boys/girls. I don’t have an issue of it but was just surprised in the modern world!

I have never encouraged this.

I eye-roll at parents who put any effort into a fake kid romance.

They are too young for romantic gestures 1 to 1.

I have no issue when everyone in the class gets a treat.

DS's teacher left a heart shaped chocolate on each desk. I thought that it was really sweet.

Your poor DD, they shouldn't have to worry about things like this at that age and I find it quite frustrating. DS came home with some sweets all wrapped in a little bag from a girl at school, and to be fair she gave them out to the whole class but it's just Valentine's Day and I find it a bit odd that all that effort was made. DH and I didn't even realise it was Valentine's today until we saw stuff on social media.

I remember in secondary school you could buy a rose for the person you admired and they'd be delivered to classrooms throughout the day. I never bloody got one.

Happened when I was a kid 40 years ago! My 5 year old brother used to buy or make cards for his favourite little girl in his class. We used to think it was super cute! Roll on 4 years and all girls were disgusting and love was yukky!

YANBU @Eviemai - getting the gender stereotypes started early.

Although I also cannot abide all the mums giving their kids valentine’s boxes and plastering over SM - when did that become a thing? There’s one on Instagram who’s done it for her DC who are both in high school! She’d posted pics of them from the last x amount of years getting their valentine’s breakfast and gifts - I mean, do you want your teen DC to get the pish ripped right out of them! So cringe.

I'm surprised it's allowed in secondary, there will be many kids left out. I'd imagine it's becoming more popular due to social media like tiktok.

In my kid’s school we were explicitly told that we are allowed to send cards etc for the class kids but only if we send for ALL. Not to pick one or two.

I'm in the US and it has been "a thing" here for as long as I've been alive. And there was a Charlie Brown special about it that originally aired in 1975. So, 50 years

The caveat here is that kids and parents are told that if you're going to participate in handing out Valentine's card to your class, you have to bring one for everyone in the class.

Yes I agree with this to an extent..I remember in my daughter's class one parent sent in creme eggs or something similar one Easter, but it was only for a handful of the class. She was a teacher as well so not sure why did this!

I think in a small class it is quite upsetting, especially if the gift if big like a teddy. I think it was in reception one boy did give my daughter a packet of love hearts once but i have never said to my children about getting anyone a gift and we don't do gifts at home either. My children are constantly getting things without another day for it 😂

I am a teacher in secondary and have been for 14 years. I have never known so many gifts exchanged on valentine's day before! Massive gift bags, bouquets of flowers, huge handmade cards. Some kids were struggling to carry it all through the corridors! Honestly never seen anything like it.