327: 3 Ways to Teach Children Gratitude

November 20, 2023

Posted in Elementary School, Finding Joy, Gather the Good, Holidays / Traditions, Positive Parenting, Teaching Values, Tweens and Teens

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ANNOUNCEMENT:

I am so thrilled to announce Flecks of Gold for kids, a digital download you can purchase once from my website and then print copies for all of the children in your household, so it becomes part of your family culture to look for the golden moments you experience together. Make this the year you start a gratitude tradition with your kids! Go to 3in30podcast.com/shop to see the new Flecks of Gold Journal for Kids, and to celebrate the launch of this product, get 50% off from now until the end of the month with the code KIDS!

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I have always loved the focus on gratitude that this season of the year brings to my life. And that’s why I was so excited to be able to release. A new product this month. I hope you’ve heard me talking about. Our digital flecks of gold journal for kids. I’ve been doing the flecks of gold journal for mothers for the last three years.

And throughout those years, many of you have asked when can we get a version of this type of gratitude journaling for our children? And I have been so thrilled to be able to release this this year. It is a printable version. So you buy it once and you download it and then you have the file and you can print it out for all of your kids in your house.

So with the release of this product this month, I have been thinking a lot about how to teach children the skill of gratitude. Because as much as we wish that our children just came to us as little grateful beings. That they just knew that they should be grateful for all of the things that other people do for them. It’s been my experience and I’m guessing it’s been yours as well. That kids don’t necessarily automatically feel that way.

Certainly some kids are probably more predisposed than others. To be more naturally grateful, but gratitude really is a skill and it is something that you can teach your kids. It’s something that they have to practice.

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3 Ways to Help Your Children Practice Gratitude:

Start a daily gratitude practice with them. This could be writing in the Flecks of Gold for Kids Journal or simply sharing “highs and lows” over family dinner. The more regular you can make your family’s gratitude practice, the more second-nature it will become to your child. And as they start looking for their good in their life every single day, the more often they will see the good in their life every single day, because of “frequency illusion.”
Play the Good News/Bad News game. When something negative happens to your children, acknowledge what is difficult or sad with the “Bad News.” Then, try to find a bright spot in the situation with the “Good News.” For example, “Well, the bad news is you fell hard and it must hurt. The good news is that you fell on the grass and not on the sidewalk!” This will teach your children to acknowledge and accept the pain or discomfort of the moment, but then move forward and look for the good.
Help your children write thank you notes or make thank you phone calls. It is important that kids understand that when someone gives them something, whether that is a material object or just their time and energy, it is not just a “given,” and it deserves to be acknowledged. Instead of just asking them to just scrawl a generic note, encourage them to thank that person for their love and relationship, not just the gift itself. And phone calls or personalized videos totally count too!

>>>Are these tips on teaching children gratitude helpful? What would you add to the takeaways? Tell us in the comments below.

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