Inside: This Valentine’s Day, celebrate family, love, and friendship every day with our list, 28 Ways to Love Your Child. Simple and fun, these sweet, creative ideas will delight children of all ages!

One of my son’s favorite books, How Do I Love You, reads, “How do I love you? Let me count the ways. I love you on your very best and very worst of days.”

Those words couldn’t be more genuine when it comes to parenting and offering unconditional love to a child. Parenting is often abundant with joyous, heart-melting moments, but also presents its fair share of not so merry times.

Loving your child doesn’t mean parenting will always be simple. When parenting becomes complicated and we are caught up in daily stress, it’s easy to wonder if our children understand how much we actually do love them.

But love can be demonstrated in many different forms.

So, whether your current parenting chapter is rocky and not so lovely, or heart-warming and fulfilling, shared below are 28 ways to love your child. Use them to connect, to demonstrate love, or simply have fun with your child.

Related: Crafting Your Family Motto

28 Ways to Love Your Child

1. Host a kitchen dance party while you’re cooking.

2. Give a wild piggyback ride.

3. Turn your kitchen into a pretend-play grocery store.

4. Play tag outside.

5. Have a living room floor camp out!

6. Kneel down when your child speaks.

7. Make eye contact and give smiles as often as possible.

8. Set aside time to talk every day.

9. Eat ice-cream for dinner.

10. Give long and snuggly bear hugs!

11. Leave a loving lunchbox note. Include stickers for your child to pass out to classmates.

12. Keep a journal together to pass thoughts and ideas back and forth. (Check out this mother/son journal and this mother/daughter journal!)

13. Write things you love about your child on heart-shaped sticky notes, then hide them in their bedroom!

14. Share a compliment with your child and teach your child how to compliment others.

15. Spend the afternoon at a park!

16. Make a playlist of your favorite songs.

17. Decorate cookies and use all the sprinkles.

18. Spend the day together in nature.

19. Join a chorus or community theater program together.

20. Volunteer together at an animal shelter or nursing home.

21. Invite friends over for a “crafternoon.” (Find easy craft ideas here!)

22. Create a family scrapbook!

23. Build something together.

24. Tell your child why they are a great friend.

25. Tell your child that you are thankful for them!

26. Play on the floor with your child.

27. Spend the afternoon at a local museum.

28. Read just one more story!

Telling our children how much we love them is incredibly important, but it’s equally important to show them with acts of service, praise, gifts, and quality time.

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