Abby McCloskey, Bloomberg Opinion, February 13, 2026

“For those with means and minutes, intensive parenting is an arms race. Working parents feel guilt. Stay-at-home parents feel guilt. No one wants their child excluded or left behind. More time and money begets the need for even more time and money. It’s exhausting.

It almost feels normal to fill a Valentine’s basket with goodies from four different stores. I know, because I’ve been one of those moms in years past. And in truth, I felt pretty proud of pulling it off, in the midst of everything else. I’m not just surviving, but thriving-ish — I can prove it with the gifts!

But this year, as I was perusing the Valentine’s aisle, I found myself thinking: Enough. Truly, I’m sure my own mother just drew a heart on a semi-rotten banana in our packed lunch. We passed out generic cards to our classmates and ate a few Hershey’s kisses. (Mom, if you did more, I love you, but I don’t remember it. And that in and of itself says something, doesn’t it?)

So this year, we are taking it down a notch. . . there’s something to be said about loving more with less.”