How To Raise A Grateful Child

We love grateful kids and the many ways they show their appreciation, but… can “giving thanks” also be taught?

With every Thanksgiving, a topic on many parents’ minds is thankfulness. What steps can we take to raise a grateful child? How can we teach kids to give thanks and be content with what they have?

In today’s post, we’ll give you some helpful tips on how important it is to give thanks is during Thanksgiving and beyond!

 

?? Giving thanks: set a good example

When it comes to behavior, the most important thing that we as parents can do is to be good role models ourselves. Children look up to us to see what’s acceptable and what’s not. Values like honesty, integrity, empathy, kindness, and gratefulness are best taught to your little ones by practicing them yourself.

Be grateful—and mean it, not only during Thanksgiving. Make a habit of giving thanks or calling loved ones to tell them you appreciate them. Did your child finish their chores with no complaints? Tell them how much it means to you. They’ll normalize this behavior and mimic it naturally, becoming easily grateful children.

Also, practicing gratitude at the end of each day is a great way to get your little one appreciating the little things in life. Was it sunny and beautiful today? Was tonight’s dinner extra delicious? Were the evening cartoons really funny? Talk with your child about the most wonderful moments in their day and explain how lucky they are to have experienced them!

 

Encourage your kid to help others

how-to-raise-grateful-children

Lending a helping hand is a great way for kids to develop a sense of gratitude.
Volunteer with them at a local children’s hospital, help collect canned food to donate to a shelter, bake holiday cookies for the neighbors, or walk an elderly woman’s dog.

Get your kids excited about volunteering and sharing time with other grateful children by choosing work that produces results they can see. Giving thanks and receiving them are both important. Here’s an example:

Volunteer to plant trees with a local organization, so every time you drive by the tree, you can say “You
planted that tree!” They’ll feel an exciting sense of accomplishment, and they’ll also understand the work that goes into all the trees and flowers in public spaces.

Teaching your child the value of little acts It can be hard for kids to understand how much value something may have or even how money works. They don’t get why some children have more than others, and why they can’t have all the shiny, new toys in the store.

Have them “work” for special rewards and most importantly, thank them for their achievements. Does your little one want a new action figure? Tell them, “If you help your brother/sister clean the playroom this week, we’ll go on a special trip on Saturday to get that toy you’ve been wanting.”

Make sure they know the moral of the story: people have to work hard for the things they want. On top of that, if receiving something for free, encourage giving thanks for the effort that person has made, even if it’s you.

 

Go 24 hours without negativity!

How kids say thank you is as important as the words themselves. If they frequently use a negative or even sarcastic tone, it could be because they’re exposed to too much negativity. Often, raising grateful kids is as much about considering your own actions as theirs.

Why not challenge the whole family to go 24 hours without a single complaint? Turn it into a game—the ones who make it to the end get a special ice cream treat.

At the end of the game, reflect on what you learned. Think about how looking at the bright side of things affected your mood. Afterward, you can brainstorm ways to deal with challenges without using negative speech.

 

? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

The classic tradition at Thanksgiving dinner is to go around the table listing things we’re grateful for and giving thanks for them. It could be family and friends, school, your home, delicious Thanksgiving dinner… But this is a great habit to get into year-round!

Set a day each week—Friday, for example—to list five things you’re thankful for.
And get creative! At Christmas, have them make a list of things they’re grateful for from last Christmas. In back-to-school season, challenge them to make a list of things they’re excited about. Pick a theme to get the wheels turning.

It may seem unrelated, but limiting your child’s exposure to advertisements and other types of online consumption can actually decrease their desire for more…more toys, more clothes, more books, etc. The less they ask for material things, the more content they’ll be and the more grateful children be with what they have.

With the Lingokids app, your child will learn in a controlled and ad-free environment, so you don’t have to worry about targeted advertisements giving them ideas for their holiday Wishlist.

Here at Lingokids, we strive to instill good habits in children from a young age.
Online learning tools can help kids beyond concrete subjects—it helps form their cognitive and analytical abilities, and all while they’re having fun playing games! Have a look at our Three Little Kittens song!

 

 

Let us also thank you for reading this post and supporting Lingokids!

If you would like to have more information about the Lingokids Playlearningmethod and more, visit our website.

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