Valentine's Day: Class Warfare

It used to be so simple when Valentine's Day meant bringing home a decorated shoe box filled with cards and maybe a conversation heart or two.

But in the 21st century - when grade-schoolers carry cell phones and parents thrive on outdoing one another on the birthday party circuit - nothing's simple when it comes to kids and holidays.

The innocence of Valentine's Day for the young set has given way to stuff - the candy, stickers, pencils and assorted red-and-white trinkets now lining store aisles.

In fact, kids in the U.S. will spend an average of $4.05 on their classmates and teachers, up from $3.35 in 2007, according to a report by the National Retail Federation.

Nationwide, Valentine's Day spending is expected to soar this year to more than $17 billion, with some $560 million being spent on kids' classmates and teachers.

The growing trend has some schools and parents looking for alternatives.

Rich Newman, principal at Edison Elementary School in Torrance, said he strongly supports the move to healthy food on campus, including on Valentine's Day.

"We don't want to take the fun out of school. We just want to take the junk food out of school," said Newman, a strict vegan who doesn't touch the bad stuff.

He hopes that de-emphasizing the heart-shaped candies and elaborate cupcakes might ease the sometimes cutthroat competition among parents bringing treats and trinkets to class.

Newman said he has witnessed classroom one-upsmanship such as mothers trying to outdo one another with elaborate goodie bags at birthdays. Not only does it set a bad example, it takes the focus off the kids and achievement, he said.
"He said he doesn't want to see a single piece of candy," said one mother of two at Edison. "I fear he'll walk by my kids' lunch and go, "Oh, my God."'

But Jill Nowak, whose daughter Jessica attends Edison, said the youngster came home from school last Valentine's Day with a shocking amount of candy.

At her son's preschool, which is also located at Edison, the kids got cookies, cupcakes and bags of candy - enough to send the kids into sugar overdrive.

This year, Jessica is making Valentine's magnets to give to her friends.

And other schoolkids are following suit, celebrating Feb. 14 - but most without the chocolate.

Parent Jamie Garson is helping to plan a "heart smart party" for her son's kindergarten class at Colfax Elementary in Valley Village.

One of the room mothers is a pharmaceutical company representative and will bring in healthy-heart literature and giveaways from her company. The kids will make healthy "ants on a log" - peanut butter-filled celery sticks topped with raisins.

La Canada Elementary first-graders will make valentines and then buy and sell them in a store using pretend money, said PTA president Pam Knapp.

Westside mom Julie Sisk said her son's preschool will go to a nursing home and sing love songs for residents.

Parents will surely embrace these healthy, educational alternatives to sugary holiday parties. But the most determined kids and parents will find ways around them.

"We will give out little candy bags or suckers - snuck in via the backpack," said Angela Dyborn, a PTA president at Linwood E. Howe Elementary in Culver City.

barbara.correa@dailynews.com 818-713-3662