It’s more than just saying thank you.
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Grateful kids also tend to give more social support to others as well.
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So clearly, many good reasons exist to help kids experience and express gratitude.
Here are a few strategies that can help your kids feel more grateful.
Teach Your Child to Say Thank You
Encourage your child to say “Thank you” regularly.
Offer gentle reminders like, “Your brother let you go first.
What should you say to him?”
or “What do you say to Grandma for giving you a cookie?”
Your child might color a picture for a grandparent who purchased a birthday gift for them.
ensure to point out times when your child shows gratitude without a prompt from you.
Positive attention will reinforce the importance of showing gratitude.
Researchers from UNC encourage parents to ask kids questions to help foster a deeper sense of gratitude.
This might involve returning a favor, like loaning a toy to a friend who is kind.
Make it clear that there are many ways to show people that youre grateful for all they do.
It can be a great conversation piece as well.
It can be a great way to honor all the good things happening in everyones lives.
Listening to the things everyone else is grateful for can encourage even more gratitude in the family.
Establish a Gratitude Ritual
Make it a habit to regularly express gratitude in your family.
Look for the Silver Lining
Help your kids see that something good can come from difficult circumstances.
If a soccer game gets rescheduled due to rain, talk about the bright side of the situation.
Say something like, “Well at least we don’t have to be outside in the cold.
We can play board games together instead and that will be fun.”
Ask questions that help your child discover the potential silver lining in a tough situation.
Ask, “What’s something good that could come from something hard like this?”
So you might give it some time before encouraging your child to look on the bright side.
Keep in Mind
Make gratitude a priority in your home.
Experiment with different strategies to help determine which gratitude practices help everyone best experience and express their grateful feelings.
Of course, there will be times when your kids seem to be ungrateful.
This doesnt mean youve failed in the gratitude department, however.
Its normal for kids to experience entitlement at times.
So turn these times into teachable moments.
Nguyen SP, Gordon CL.The relationship between gratitude and happiness in young children.J Happiness Stud.
2016;14(3):271-282. doi:10.1080/17439760.2018.1424924
Greater Good Magazine.What parents neglect to teach about gratitude.
2019;23(4):371-384. doi:10.1080/10888691.2018.1441713
