Valentine’s Day – All About Love

Valentine’s Day has become a marketing machine for candy, flowers, and romance. While these things are nice, they are also limited gestures of love. This special holiday could embrace a much broader range, including love for children, life, and oneself. But first, we must recognize that love is much more than simple tokens given once a year. Love is an action word, essential to every part of life – all the time.

Love starts at birth. When a new life enters the world, that child has needs that will shape their future mental health. Physical connection, emotional warmth, eye contact, proper nutrition, and a sense of safety and security are essential. This requires significant effort from the parent(s). When a newborn cries at night, the parent can’t simply shout, “I love you.” They must wake from a deep sleep, get up, and tenderly attend to the infant’s needs. As the child grows, they continue to develop behaviors that foster good mental health. Healthy nutrition—including protein, fruits, and vegetables —promotes good mental health, reduces anxiety and ADHD, improves sleep patterns, and reduces illnesses such as diabetes and psychological disorders,[1] including depression and emotional regulation issues.[2] Emphasizing proper nutrition, limiting sugar intake, and avoiding foods with harmful preservatives and unhealthy fats (common in fast food and many snacks) are crucial for mental health.

As children grow, they are encouraged to play, exercise, participate in creative activities, and learn boundaries that respect themselves and others. The link between exercise and good mental health cannot be overstated. Evidence-based research has shown that exercise is essential for children to prevent poor mental health, co-occurring health issues, and early death, and it is now being integrated into mental health treatment for children. It also teaches fairness, boundaries, and cooperation. Before electronics, children spent most of their free time playing outdoors or engaging in sports rather than sitting in front of a screen. Many schools no longer offer physical education, which further limits physical activity. Regular exercise leads to improved academic performance, better memory and attention, stronger lung and heart health, increased bone strength, and a healthy weight. The National Institute of Health states that exercise enhances brain function through better cognition, social-emotional skills, and psychological well-being.[3]

Intellectual curiosity is developed by exposure to effective learning techniques that involve problem solving, creative activities, and life skills, which is the basis of intellectual advancement. The American Psychological Association reports that exercise promotes better academic performance, good self-esteem and self-image, and better coping skills with stress and emotions.[4] Children who are sedentary and spend excessive time on electronic devices, frequently develop ‘digital addiction’ and suffer anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorder.[5]

Laptops, smartphones, and computers have an important place in learning, but mustn’t replace pen and pencil, crafts, and social activities, lest we stifle the brain’s love of connection and turn it toward isolation. These are all substitutes for self-love.
Providing children with good physical and mental health requires effort. I recently heard that cooking healthily is too expensive and that it’s unsafe for children to play outside. Both beliefs are false. For example, a whole chicken with rice, potatoes, or vegetables can last for several meals and can be cooked in different ways, such as soup, casserole, or potpie. Parental supervision during outdoor play or enrolling children in non-academic sports is certainly safe. The issue isn’t cost or safety; it’s taking the time to give our kids what they need, and that is love. We should consider the costs of physical and mental illnesses caused by poor nutrition and lack of exercise instead of focusing only on the effort involved in good parenting.
Most importantly, when physical and emotional care are consistently part of a child’s upbringing, they become a natural aspect of adulthood. Thanks to our parents’ loving efforts, we learn to respect our bodies’ and minds’ needs. Self-care feels instinctive and habitual, and we perform at our best physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially.

Flowers, candy, and romance are lovely, but they aren’t replacements for love. Love requires action, and acts of love produce results. Everyone benefits from a world where people are full of love instead of empty vessels in an endless, mindless search for gratification. Every human being is worth the effort.

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