In some schools, the idea of giving a classmate a simple valentine has been replaced by goody bags — and some parents are not loving it.
Some of these parents spoke with TODAY.com about their experiences with Valentine’s Day and their toddlers.
“I was shook,” Jaqueline Dowling of Greenville, South Carolina, said.
Dowling described how her son, Max, then 3, received items such as Play-doh, a monster truck and a customized puzzle for Valentine’s Day last year.
“Who has the time?” Dowling said. “I literally ran to Walmart a couple days before, let Max pick out old school Spiderman cards with erasers, and I thought that was it. When he came home with, literally, a basket full of stuff, I was floored.”
@jbarrera404 Valentine’s Day parent fail 🤦🏼♀️ #fyp #toddlersoftiktok #parentsoftiktok ♬ original sound – Jacqueline Barrera Dowling
This year, the peer pressure of keeping up with the Jones has her buying more this year.
“I am not letting that happen to me this year. This year, we are going all out,” she said. “If you know me personally, I am very extra, but I just did not think that it needed to start in pre-k.”
When Carmela Lerner’s son was in the first grade in 2023, the Long Island mother didn’t intend to send anything, she told the outlet.
That all changed when the teacher sent home a flyer the day before.
Lerner stayed up cutting out hearts and handwriting messages on them.
Her son returned with doodads such as pens and toy.
“I can’t believe we were doing this,” she said. “At the end of the day, if you’re a mom that would love to send goody bags, I have no problem with it.”
The issue will not be a part of this year’s celebration — the school is asking parents not send goody bags.
