There are many reasons why the school your child, preteen, or teenager attends does not celebrate Valentine’s Day. This may come as a relief for young people who are uncomfortable with the idea of choosing a card to send to everyone in their class, or attending a school dance. Parents may be happy that they don’t have to spend money on cards or baked goods for a school party.
Of course, there will be some students who want to experience a classroom Valentine’s Day party or to have fun at a school dance. Some parents may want their child’s school to have Valentine’s Day events (even if their kids have no interest in participating). This group is going to be disappointed if the school chooses not to provide that.
There are some very good reasons why schools stopped having Valentine’s Day events.
Baked Goods: Classroom Valentine’s Day parties often include packaged baked goods (from a grocery store). Students with food allergies can be put at risk if the baked goods contain milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or coconut (as some examples). Schools don’t want to be responsible for a student getting sick from a baked good that contained an allergen their body cannot handle.
Valentine’s Cards: Parents may feel obligated to buy enough boxes of Valentine’s Day cards for their child to hand out to their classmates. The larger the number of student’s in your child’s classroom – the more expensive this Valentine’s Day custom becomes. Families who are struggling with money won’t have the budget to do this.
Schools who still hold Valentine’s Day parties typically require a child to write down the name of each of their classmates onto a Valentine’s Day card. Children tend to struggle with this task, which often leads to having their parent finish it for them.
Another problem with Valentine’s Day parties that includes sharing cards is one parents might not expect at all. Schools tend to enforce the “everyone gets a card” rule. It sounds nice, but has an unfortunate side effect.
Some students will write nasty messages on the Valentine’s Day card they chose for someone they don’t like. It is a form of bullying that isn’t immediately obvious to the adults in the room. As such, some schools are not having Valentine’s Day parties, and request that those kinds of celebrations take place off school grounds.
Religion: There could be children, preteens, or teens whose religious beliefs do not include celebrating certain holidays (or any holidays – depending on the religion). Celebrating Valentine’s Day in the classroom can be considered discriminatory.
Disruption: Another very valid reason for schools to stop having Valentine’s Day parties is because the party causes a disruption to the learning process. It is very hard for to get anything accomplished if students are anticipating a celebration or recovering from one.
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