Pero mi corazon.. Why Valentine’s Day is Special with Los Tweens
Cristy Clavijo-Kish
Ayayayaya- look at my dining room table!
After a longgg day of way too much work, school, basketball, homework, dinner and no bath time yet- I had the placer of helping my tween twins prepare their Valentine cards and candy for classmates and teachers. I had bought the cards on sale a week prior and thought I was being ultra efficient and cost conscious. But a hectic birthday weekend and work continuing to creep up on both my hubby and I- it was the ‘night before’ and here we were. Part of me wanted to skip it as a frivolous exercise that the kids won’t likely appreciate anyway. Then I realized that this easy decision would actually go against what I’ve been working on my girls to have in spades- empathy and caring for others. They were very much looking forward to preparing one for each classmate although there were ‘certain kids’ they wanted to skip! And then their on-again, off-again love for their teachers also came into question. That whole conversation was funny enough to improve my mood! In the end, a sincere desire to support their classmates prevailed and I wanted to ensure I was supporting their efforts.
And really, that’s the key component of ‘tween rearing’- they are not babies, but they really are still very much growing up and looking to us to set standards, raise the bar and illustrate lessons by ‘doing’ and less by ‘saying’. Today I was tired, fighting a cold and my husband was passed out on the sofa with a flu. It took quite an amount of effort to show that support that they needed. But I mustered it up because it was important to help them illustrate how they care to their friends. One by one I placed lollipops with stickers on Valentine cards!! And cranky as I was just looking at the mess on my dining room table- it was worth it. They achieved their goal.
So Happy Valentine’s Day padres, madres, abuelas, abuelos, tios, amigos and all our Los Tweens supporters! We hope you enjoy a little amor, some sweet heart cookies or chocolates, with your tween today and always. Keep showing them why their efforts really do matter for others.
Abrazos! Cristy
As a mother of twin tweens in 2011 and an active Girl Scout Troop leader, Cristy realized there was a need to develop bilingual digital content and foster a community facing the challenges of raising kids after first grade. That year she founded and remains co-Publisher of Los Tweens & Teens, to support multicultural parents and mentors with content related to raising Gen Z- tweens & teens ages 7-18. Through the Los Tweens & Teens LIVE events such as Teens & Me – the growing team aims to provide our community with essential resources from chats with therapists to battle anxiety and bullying, to understanding social media and technology.