Valentine’s Day can be tough for the less popular kids (and, yes, those kids know exactly who they are). Should I find out how things are handled at my child’s elementary school on Valentine’s Day?
Absolutely. There’s nothing worse than feeling like the social outcast of your entire elementary school because you didn’t score a single Valentine. Fortunately, while your child is still in the primary or junior grades, her teacher will likely establish some Valentine’s Day ground rules that may help to short-circuit such misery (e.g., requiring anyone who wants to hand out Valentines to bring a Valentine for everyone in the class).
Valentine’s Day tends to become slightly more torturous during junior high and high school, the years when kids are given the opportunity to purchase roses or chocolates to send to a “secret Valentine.” (Some secret! The popular kids get loaded down with goodies while the less popular kids are left empty handed.)
You may want to speak out against these “popular-kid-take-all” events, if they’re still happening at your local school by the time your child hits junior high or high school—or at least suggest that they be handled in a more sensitive way. The less popular kids will thank you for it.
