How To Cultivate Gratitude In Your Children

How many times do you hear your kids saying how grateful they are for what they have in life? Younger generations tend to show less gratitude. A survey conducted for the John Templeton Foundation shows that only 35% of young adults between 18 and 24 years old have integrated gratefulness into their lives.

Practicing gratitude isn’t limited to saying thank you; it also entails appreciating what you already have and feeling blessed for it. It means stopping focusing on what you don’t have. According to a study, gratitude helps children and adolescents experience more positive emotions and relationships.

Gratitude is a learned value. As a parent, you can actively participate in helping your children become more grateful through the following activities.

Here Are Ways To Help Your Child Become More Grateful

Set The Example

Children look at their parents as role models and tend to imitate what they do. Thus, if they see you expressing gratitude to them, your spouse, and others, they will probably do the same. You can express gratitude by saying something like, “I appreciate you helping me set the table because I’m very tired.”

Establish Gratitude Time

Choose a time during the day, preferably when the whole family is together, and ask each member to express gratitude for something that happened that day. This creates a habit of shifting the focus from negative experiences to positive ones.

Include All Family Members In Household Chores

Children can appreciate your effort in keeping the house clean by experiencing for themselves what it takes to do it. Everyone can have a chore according to their age. Even the little ones can help with the bathroom trash.

Help Those In Need

Visiting the less fortunate can contribute to gaining awareness and perspective about their own experiences. By volunteering and helping in any way, you are also promoting compassion. There are different options to choose from, such as donating food to a food pantry, visiting a nursing home, or a children’s hospital. Some other examples could be helping animal shelters, cleaning up a park or the beach, or maybe donating some of the clothes or toys they don’t use anymore. Try taking them to a children’s shelter where they can interact with other children or people and hear some of their stories.

By fostering gratitude in your children, you’re helping them experience positive emotions and having a better relationship with the world out there. When are you going to start?