7 Easy Ways To Raise Grateful Children

Gratitude is in our minds. You probably feel grateful when you visit your family, when you get warm in front of a fireplace, or even when your mother cooks that delicious meal for you on a Sunday. And of course we are all grateful for our children, because they mean the world to us. That is why it is so important to raise grateful children.

Many parents think that it is not so easy to teach children to be grateful. However, this is not true. We’ll even give you some helpful tips to help you teach your kids this important value.

1. Share Your Gratitude for Raising Grateful Children

One of the best ways to convey gratitude to your children is for you to be grateful too. To do this, you should try to talk about the things you are grateful for and explain why you are grateful for them.

You can use daily activities to give examples. Try asking all your family members to share with everyone what they are grateful for. You can do this while taking your kids to school or while you are eating. If you manage to combine your daily activities with this idea, you will never get rid of the habit of being grateful.

2. Share your household chores with your kids

Sometimes, in order to be thankful for something, we need to know the effort behind that action. It can be a good idea to share your household chores with your kids to show them how much effort you put in every day. For example, if they are n’t grateful for the meals you serve them, involve them in the cooking process.

This way they see how long it takes to cook for the whole family. In addition, they will realize that food does not appear as a magical act. Even though they may not like everything you serve them, they will notice the effort.

3. Make them earn something to be thankful for

Sometimes kids find it hard to understand why they can’t get everything they want. Money is an abstract concept for them, because they have never had to pay for anything. That’s why they don’t understand why you sometimes say no.

The next time your kids really want a new toy, help them think a certain way to earn the money to buy it. As a result, you will raise grateful children.

They could do it by saving their allowance, doing extra activities at home, saving the money family members give them for their birthday, etc. Eventually they will understand how much time and effort it takes to get those toys they want. They will end up being even more grateful than if they just got it as a gift.

4. Set Expectations to Raise Grateful Children

If your kids give you a snack or new toy every time they help you with something, they always expect something. And if they wait for it, they are no longer grateful. They can even get upset if you don’t give them anything in return.

Therefore, tell them what you are going to do before going to a store. It could go like this: “We don’t buy anything. We’re just going to take a look. If you see something you like, I’ll write it down so you’ll remember it on your next birthday.” Then stick to the plan. As time goes by, their expectations for a new toy will diminish.

5. Share experiences with your children

If they have too many things, it can be hard for them to be thankful. When they have hundreds of toys, they don’t even notice the fifteen new ones they got during vacations. Try to replace some of these material gifts with experiences together. For example, you can go out with the whole family or go to the movies together. As a result, these experiences will help you bond and will also take away the constant desire for new things.

6. Make a list of the things you are grateful for

Ask your children to make a list of the things they are grateful for. If they are too young to write, you can help them make it. It would be a kind of gratitude journal, something very important to learn to be grateful.

7. Start a gratitude jar

Just like the list we mentioned earlier, you can help your kids start a gratitude jar. In this case, the whole family can participate and share what they are thankful for. Every time you add a new piece of paper to the jar, tell your kids.

You might say things like, “I’m so grateful for the flowers Grandma brought. I get very happy every time I see them. I’m going to put this in the pot.” Then your kids will also start looking for things to put in the jar. In addition , you can read the notes once a week as a family activity, perhaps on Sunday after dinner.

About Raising Grateful Children

As you can see, it is very easy to raise grateful children after reading these tips. What are you waiting for to put all this into practice?