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 a delicious meal for you on a Sunday. And of course, we are all grateful for our children, because they mean everything to us. That is why it is so important to raise grateful children.

Many parents find it difficult to teach children to be grateful. However, this is not true. In fact, we will give you some helpful tips to help you teach this important value to your children.

Share your gratitude for raising grateful children

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

You can use everyday activities to lead by example. Try to ask all your family members to tell everyone what they are grateful for. You can do this while taking your children to school or when eating dinner. If you succeed in combining your everyday activities with this idea, you will never lose the habit of being grateful.

2. Share your household chores with your children

Sometimes, in order to be grateful for something, we need to know the effort behind that action. Sharing your household chores with your children can be a great idea to help them see the efforts you make every day. For example, if they are not grateful for the meals you serve them, then include them in the cooking process.

In this way, they get to see how long it takes to cook for the whole family. In addition, they will realize that food is not produced as if by a magical act. Although they may not like everything you serve them, they will notice the effort.

Let them earn something to be thankful for

Sometimes children have a hard time understanding why they can not get everything they want. Money is an abstract concept to them, because they have never had to pay for anything. That’s why they do not understand why you say no sometimes.

Next time your kids really want a new toy, help them think of a way to make money buying it. As a result, you will raise grateful children.

They could do it by saving on expenses, doing extra chores at home, saving the money that family members give them for birthdays, etc. In the end, they will understand the time and effort it takes to get the toy they want. Finally, they become even more grateful than just receiving it as a gift.

4. Set expectations for raising grateful children

If every time your kids help you with something you give them a snack or a new toy, they will always expect something. And once they have waited for it, they stop being grateful. In fact, they can get upset if you do not give them something in return.

Before you go to a store, tell them what to do. It can happen like this: “We do not buy anything. We’ll just watch. If you see something you like, I’ll write it down so you can remember it on your next birthday. ” Then stick to the plan. As time goes on, their expectations for a new toy will decrease.

5. Share experiences with your children

Having too many things can make it difficult for them to be grateful. If they have hundreds of toys, they will not even notice the fifteen new ones they receive during the holidays. 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 cinema together. As a result, these experiences will help you bond and they will also take away the desire for new things all the time.

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

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

7. Start a jar of gratitude

Just like the list we mentioned earlier, you can help your children start a gratitude jar. In this case, the whole family can participate and share things they are grateful for. Be sure to tell your children each time you add new paper to the jar.

You could say things like, “I’m so grateful for the flowers Grandma brought. I feel very happy every time I see them. I’ll put this in the jar. ” Then your children 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 Sundays after dinner.

About raising grateful children

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