Love is Love! Say it loud! Say it proud! Say it even louder for the folks in the back!
The Valentine’s candy has arrived at Hannafords and bright red hearts are popping up all over. Here are some tips for making sure everyone gets to share in the love this season.
- If you facilitate Valentine’s Day activities such as card making or gift giving, make sure that participants can give cards and gifts to any special people in their life that they choose.
- Ensure that no child is teased for having Valentine’s Day cards or candy that do not reflect their perceived gender. It’s ok for boys to give cards with pink hearts, and it’s ok for girls to give cards with video game characters and trucks!
- Valentine’s Day is not just for romantic love! What other types of loving relationships can be celebrated this month?
- Teach about healthy relationships of all kinds – what does a safe, loving relationship look like? Feel like? Sound like?
While there are clear standards of what is NOT a healthy relationship; what IS healthy will vary. Each person in the relationship will bring their own culture, history, abilities, and needs, meaning that “healthy” and “safe” will be different for each relationship. For example, how love and care is shown between an autistic teen and a non-autistic teen is likely different than how love and care is shown between two non-autistic teens. Safety within a relationship of two closeted, queer, Muslim teens is going to look different than the safety needs within the relationship of two heterosexual teens. As you celebrate healthy love this February (and always) remember to include a variety of examples of what healthy relationships can and do look like!
