Dear readers, I am a mom of two teens and I know many of my readers are parents too. Today’s fast paced world is a lot more different, and difficult, than our times. I am an educator too, so seeing from the lenses of both roles I really wish kids today are told to take it slow and learn patience and gratitude. In today’s post, I write about 5 simple ways to try to raise grateful kids. So read on.
Background
What do we mean by grateful kids? Why do we want kids to be grateful? In one of my previous posts about having an attitude of gratitude, I wrote about how gratitude can lead to happiness and contentment in life. Life is not perfect, but we can make perfect moments in life that stay in our memories for lifetime; the best part is, we can decide which moments to make and cherish. Gratitude teaches kids to be thankful for what they have in life, instead of always running behind what they want. Gratitude teaches tolerance, patience and humility.
Grateful kids may be happier, get into less arguments, work harder, pay more attention and help others. Gratitude leads to letting go, not holding on to grudges, better communication, high self esteem, awareness, and being there for others. These kids (and adults) may be more adept at understanding others’ point of view, resolving conflict, giving the benefit of the doubt to others, and having a positive attitude.
Related post: How to live a balanced life
Being grateful and gratitude can be used synonymously but may mean slightly different things. Being grateful means to be thankful and appreciative. Gratitude, on the other hand, can be a constant state of being grateful. There is no one reason to have gratitude, but rather being grateful for all things, big and small.
5 ways to raise grateful kids:
- Model behavior.
What we do as parents have a lasting effect on kids. If we show gratitude and speak kindly about others and do actions rather than mere words, kids understand and will follow that behavior. Treating everyone equally and fairly shows kids consistency and balance.
2. Give opportunities for kids to help others.
Volunteering, or giving time at any place of their choice, is a lifelong habit of giving back to others. Whether it is an animal shelter, food bank or local community center, teaching kids how they can be helpful to others at a young age develops their character and attitude of gratitude.
3. Write thank you letters for any season or reason
It doesn’t just have to be for family. Thank you notes are perfect during Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other time of the year. They can be given to organizations, charities, friends, family, neighbors, or community members. Try to look for good things and acknowledge them.
4. Give back regularly to society
It can be in the form of time, money or skills. Helping others, for no reason, shows children that the habit can be cultivated early on in life and can be continued in the future.
5. Gives chores and responsibilities to kids at home
Kids should be taught to earn their privileges at home and beyond. Kids who are given chores and responsibilities at home learn the importance of hard work and value of mundane work. Giving kids and teens choices and opportunities may make them good decision makers. Teaching that actions have consequences can ead to them taking responsibility for their own mistakes and errors. It shows them not to give up easily and to develop grit.
Related posts:
5 benefits of having a positive attitude
Motivational quotes:
Below are some motivational quotes to show or read with your kids, to help them understand the importance of gratitude and gratefulness:
If you want to find happiness, find gratitude
Steve Maraboli
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough
Melody Beattle
Joy is the simplest form of gratitude
Karl Barth
Robert Braathe
Gratitude and attitude are not challenges, they are choices
The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now
Oprah Winfrey
A grateful mind is a great mind which eventually attracts to itself great things
Plato
There is always something to be grateful for
Rhonda Byrne
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed
Maya Angelou
When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around
Willie Nelson
The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see
Mary Davis
Thank you is the best prayer that anyone could say. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding
Alice Walker
It is not the joy that makes us grateful. It is the gratitude that makes us joyful
David Steindl-rost
Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance
Eckhart Tolle
Related post: Look for miracles every day
Wrap Up
To wrap up, I shared 5 simple ways to help raise grateful kids. Modeling our own behavior, giving opportunities for them to help others, writing thank you notes, giving back to society and giving chores at home to kids are some ways to help develop gratitude and raise our kids to be grateful.
Dear readers, we would love to hear from you. Do share any tips or strategies you have to raise grateful kids (and adults).
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6 traits to instill in our kids
17 replies on “How to raise grateful kids”
I like articles like these. As a teacher myself and given my current location unfortunately I see very little of gratitude and gratefulness around myself and in people and kids I work with. It’s a disappointing. Most want to be future Elon Musks and have millions or billions on their account. That’s what a successful and meaningful life is to them and that’s what the parents teach. I feel like a complete alien and it’s like going against the current but I keep trying. If nothing else, I am grateful for what I have in my life and it’s always made my life so much more valuable, pleasant and meaningful. Thanks for the post.
Thanks for sharing Sonia. As a fellow educator, i understand how less of gratitude we see in kids these days. But it is also the adults. Hoping we all do our part in raising grateful kids of next generation
Very good article for all of us specially when we are talking about ‘generation gap’. We do not try to understand why such type of thinking is coming in our mind? The ways you mentioned here looks very simple but being parents and kids its very difficult to implement from both the sides. I think being parents we have to grateful first then expect from kids and others. Keep writing.All the best Nistha.
Thanks so much Malay! You are right- being right example to our kids is so important
Love this! Need to remember some of the exercises for my little ones. I’m so lucky to have sweet, thankful little guys, but I love these ideas for going beyond.
That’s amazing Joey! Great job, mom, keep it up
Raising grateful children is a huge goal of mine as a parent. As a teacher as well, I know that modelling behavior is a HUGE way to encourage kids. Thanks for the amazing ways to raise grateful children!
Totally agree, fellow educator. Thanks for reading and your kind response
Thank you for mentioning chores! So many think it is cruel to make kids do chores.
Teaching how to be grateful for what you have at a young age is key to a much more thankful outlook on life in general. Thanks so much for all of these!
It’s so important to instill gratitude in children from a young age, and I found the tips and advice in this article to be really helpful. It’s great to see articles like this that encourage positive parenting and promote kindness and empathy.
Such a great post and being grateful is such a great thing and a good thing for you as a person! Learning to always be grateful for what you have is a positive way to live life and outs everything into perspective. I use my gratitude binder regularly…. and it really does help name to have the right mindset when I start my day!
Such a good read! I’m sharing this to my sisters who have kids! Thanks!
A great post! We will be sharing with our daughter.
It was a wonderful read. Teaching kids about being grateful is so important these days and its more important that we model the same behavior so that kids can watch and learn from us.
I have 4 kids and 3 of them have an attitude of gratitude but the littlest one, she is 9 and just not getting it! It is a daily struggle with her.
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