At Happy Childcare this week, our Valentine’s Day activities have been about much more than hearts and crafts. In early years, Valentine’s Day offers a beautiful opportunity to nurture friendship, kindness and children’s self-esteem. Rather than focusing on cards or sweets, we used this seasonal celebration to help children recognise their own strengths and see the positive qualities in their friends.
Because when children learn to give and receive kind words, they begin to build confidence from the inside out.
Why Valentine’s Day Matters in Early Years
In early childhood, self-esteem does not develop through praise alone. It grows through belonging. It strengthens when children feel valued within their peer group.
Valentine’s Day in a childcare setting is not about romance. It is about connection. It is about teaching children how to express appreciation, how to notice kindness in others, and how to feel secure within their friendships.
When children hear positive words spoken about them by their friends, it lands differently. It becomes social affirmation. It helps shape how they see themselves.
And how children see themselves in the early years matters enormously.
Our Friendship Photo Frame Activity
Each child had a photo of themselves placed in the centre of a handmade frame. Around that photo, their friends decorated the frame with hearts and carefully chosen words such as:
I love you because you are kind
You are funny
You are clever
You are helpful
You are a good friend
The finished frame was then gifted to that friend to take home.
This simple activity does something powerful. It allows children to:
Practise saying kind words aloud
Recognise strengths in others
Receive affirmation from peers
Feel seen and valued
When they look at that frame at home, they are not just seeing a photograph. They are seeing evidence of belonging.
Building Self-Esteem Through Friendship
Self-esteem in children is not built through constant praise or rewards. It is built through consistent experiences of connection.
When children feel accepted and appreciated within their friendship group, they are less likely to compete, exclude or seek attention in negative ways. Instead, they learn that kindness feels good. Giving love feels good. Receiving love feels normal.
At Happy Childcare, this links directly to one of the pillars of my U URSELF Routine, which supports children’s happiness, health and success. Love is the foundation.
I explore this more deeply in my book The Confident Parents Guide to Raising a Happy, Healthy & Successful Child, where I describe love as the main ingredient in the recipe of childhood.
In my book, I write:
“Love is the crutch all children rely on. It stands by them and supports them when they make mistakes as well as celebrating their achievements.”
Without love, children struggle to thrive. With love, they flourish.
Activities like this Valentine’s project are not isolated craft sessions. They are practical expressions of unconditional love in action. They show children that they are valued not because of what they achieve, but because of who they are.
Love as the Foundation
In the U URSELF Routine, Love is not an optional extra. It is the main ingredient. Food, sleep, recreation and learning all matter, but without love, the recipe is incomplete.
Children who feel loved physically and emotionally feel secure. They begin to love themselves as well as others. When we help children form positive, loving relationships in early childhood, we are supporting their ability to create healthy relationships throughout life.
Unconditional love means that no matter what a child does or says, their worth does not change. Their behaviour may need guidance, but their value remains constant.
When children experience this kind of love consistently, they become more empathetic, more understanding and more confident in being themselves.
Valentine’s Day gave us the perfect opportunity to practise this openly and intentionally.
Why This Matters Long Term
Children who regularly hear positive words about themselves develop stronger internal beliefs about who they are.
Kind
Capable
Funny
Helpful
Valued
These words shape identity.
When children believe they are kind, they behave kindly. When they believe they are capable, they try again. When they feel valued, they do not need to seek validation in unhealthy ways.
This is how small moments create long-term emotional resilience.
Bringing This Into Your Home
You do not need Valentine’s Day to try this at home.
You could:
Create a simple “Kindness Frame” with siblings
Have a family appreciation circle at tea time
Ask, “What do you love about your friend today?”
Write three loving things you did for your child that day
Love equals time. And time is the most powerful investment we can make in our children’s lives.
As I often remind parents, we can always buy more things. We can never buy more time.
More Than Hearts
Valentine’s Day at Happy Childcare was not about grand gestures. It was about helping children feel seen, valued and secure in their friendships.
When we intentionally build children up in small, consistent ways, we do not need to repair low confidence later. We help prevent it.
Because love in the early years is not seasonal.
It is foundational.
Happy Valentines Day, much love Em x
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