Teaching Empathy at Home When the World Feels Divided

I don’t know about you but 2026 has NOT gone the way I envisioned, and I’ve been sitting with that familiar feeling of caring deeply (and getting stressed) about everything going on in our country right now, while also feeling stretched thin as a mom (hello, two rounds of stomach bug within a month, WTH).

One thing that’s been grounding me and my parenting lately is remembering that the work we do at home with children (the conversations, the modeling, the small moments) really does matter, even when the world feels loud and divided.

In past years, I have made it a point to talk about valentine’s not from an influencer/consumer standpoint, but from an opportunist parent perspective (see old posts here and here)

So this year especially, we’re continuing the tradition of using Valentine’s Day as a way to talk about love, empathy, and caring for other people through conversation, books, and making things together. 

That’s what this blog post (and the video below) is really about.

What Valentine’s Day CAN be about

I want to (hesitantly) share that we’ve never done Valentine’s Day baskets for our kids in our house. Not because gifts are bad or wrong, I have been SERIOUSLY tempted each year, trust me, (and my 6 year old has already seen allll of the stuff out when we’ve gotten groceries and asked if I think she will get anything, so I may be putting my foot in my mouth, lol).

But I don’t want my kids to grow up thinking love is something you buy, or something you only express through gifts, or that it should only be celebrated BIG one day a year. (Also, I have enough crap in my house 😂). It feels like we already have plenty of holidays centered around gifts, and for us, Valentine’s Day feels like a chance to practice something different.

So in the rest of this post you will see me talking about ways to center Valentine’s Day around LOVE and EMPATHY! And how to help your children express and explore these ideas creatively. There are a few Amazon affiliate links sprinkled in but they are just to show what we use at our house to teach! As an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn from qualifying purchases (lol I know I just said no to consumerism but I do have bills to pay!).

Practice empathy through conversation (books)

Reading books is such a powerful opportunity to open conversations or begin them with our children! Here is a short video I posted with a random stack of relevant books I pulled from our shelves. I included some ideas for conversation starters you could use! Books are linked with Amazon links below:

Books in Video:

Practice empathy through making (Valentines)

OBVIOUSLY you knew I was going to tell you to make Valentine’s day cards, haha. In years past I have also talked about this, and what a opportunity it is to engage in conversations with your child about who matters to them and why, and how we can help people feel seen and loved. Some supply ideas for you are linked below if you want to do this but need ideas to keep their interest longer!

IDK what it is but envelopes are often the most fun part for children to decorate haha! You can slo buy packs of blank cards with envelopes if you prefer. I suggest a mixed media paper or watercolor paper so if your children want to paint their valentines, the paper won’t disintegrate.

  • Washi Tape – 100% they will love decorating with this and it is relatively mess free.
  • Limited paint palette using tempera cakes – offer “valentine” colors of tempera paint or cakes to inspire them!
  • Hole punches – also a beloved tool, and you can get heart shape or heart hole punches to then glue onto cards!

Another thing you could try is my valentine mono-printing project from years past!

A practical classroom Valentine option

Side note but if your child has a class Valentine party and you want a fun, practical “Valentine,” these are incredible upgrade from my blog post last year!

More Ideas

If you liked the ideas explored in this blog post, here is a round up plus some extra to hopefully inspire you! I hope you have fun celebrating Valentine’s Day with your family!

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