Being grateful is a skill that teaches us to think positively and makes our lives fuller and deeper.
Why is gratitude so important?
Gratitude gives us the opportunity to understand the significance of every moment of our existence. When we give thanks, we understand the value of an event or meeting, which allows us to find meaning and connections between different things and to better understand our place in the world.
Psychologists say that children who feel grateful feel happy and less susceptible to illness, while teenagers are more optimistic, tend to find good things in the present moment and believe in a brighter future.
How do you instill in a child a sense of gratitude?
Here are some tips for teaching your child to be thankful:
Set an example
If you remember to thank the people who do you a favor: they serve you in a cafe, hold the door in front of you, help you carry a heavy bag, then the child will do the same.
Also, say “thank you” to him yourself when he has cleaned the room or brought you something at your request.
Thank your child just like that
Show your child that you love him－hug him, kiss him, making him feel how happy and thankful you are that he just is.
Talk about the importance of gratitude
Tell your child why it's important to say “thank you.” Read stories and tales where characters learned to thank and discuss them.
You can also do the following experiment.
Make arrangements with your family members in advance, and then ask your child to treat each of them to something. One person should sincerely thank the baby, the other should take the gift silently.
After that, ask the child when it was more pleasant for him to share the “snack” and analyze this moment together. Emphasize how gratitude means.
Come up with your child's own way to thank
If your child is too shy to say “thank you” to strangers, arrange for him, for example, to show “class” or smile broadly every time he feels grateful.
By the way, instead of “thank you”, a child can draw a beautiful picture for his grandmother or do something with his own hands.
You can bake cookies together and treat them to the child's teachers and coaches.
Gratitude before bed
When your child goes to bed, take a few minutes and together remember what you can thank the day for.
You can also invite your child to write or draw in a gratitude journal.
Why is it useful to keep a gratitude journal?
Seeing the good
Thanks to such notes, we learn to focus on the good, seek benefit even in seemingly unpleasant events, realize that everything happens for the good and react calmly to everything that happens to us. As a result, we are taking our perception of life to a whole new level.
Appreciate what we have
Very often we are dissatisfied with life because we believe that we are deprived of many things. Writing a gratitude journal shifts the focus of perception and allows us to evaluate what we already have and thank for it.
How to keep a gratitude journal and what to write in it
For adults and teenagers
- Realize that you actually want to change your mindset, rather than writing “for the sake of appearances.”
- Keep a diary every day.
- Don't just keep it in your head, but write it down, putting gratitude into words.
- Write down at least 5 things you're thankful for, even if they're tiny.
- To thank even for negative events is an important experience in each of them.
- Do not forget about unexpected pleasant events that happened suddenly.
For a child
- Write down three things he's thankful for. If the child still can't write, or it's difficult for him, do it together by speaking out loud.
- Draw the mood of the day, for example, ask the child to choose the color and weather: sun, cloud, rain, lightning, etc.
Let your child fantasize. When the drawing is ready, discuss it. If the child drew a cloud, ask what good things can be seen on such a cloudy day. Perhaps, in the end, the child will finish drawing the sun coming out from behind the cloud, and this will be a great result!
Bonus: 4 exercises to develop gratitude
- “Do you remember...”
Remember pleasant events in the child's life more often and focus on the feeling of joy they caused.
- “Lucky”
Talk about any reason to be thankful.
We were lucky to catch this bus. Lucky to have such a fun girlfriend! We were lucky that grandma made us an apple pie! This is how the child learns to see and appreciate simple things.
- “Let's share...”
Teach your child to be generous and share their “goodies” with friends and adults. This will allow him to feel important and make him happy.
- Do good things for others
Help Grandma cross the street, collect garbage from the lawn, take unnecessary things to the eco-point. Let the child know that even small things bring benefits and joy to someone.
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