Easy Tips For Raising Thankful Kids - MetroFamily Magazine
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Easy Tips For Raising Thankful Kids

by Tiffany Guerzon

Reading Time: < 1 minute 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, are you looking for ways to help your children be more thankful?  Here are 7 easy things you can do to help grow their gratitude:

  • Pare down. Before the holidays, go through the kids’ toys. Help them choose which toys they no longer play with and donate them.
  • Give selflessly. Build charity into your holiday budget. Have your children help you pick out a small gift and then take them with you to drop it off to an organization that collects toys for needy children.
  • Share. Do the same with food. Explain that not everyone has enough to eat. The little ones won’t quite get it, but you are planting a seed.
  • Give thoughtfully. Encourage children to give presents. This helps to shift the focus to “giving” rather than “getting.” No need to buy gifts—they could draw a picture or make a simple craft for relatives.
  • Show appreciation. Have them write thank you notes. For the preschooler, you can write the note then let them decorate or color the card. Older children can write their own.
  • Use good manners. Please say thank you. It sounds simple, but teaching basic manners at a young age does make a difference.
  • Count your blessings. Start family traditions that focus on your blessings. This can be done in the form of a craft, by having them make or color a “thankful tree” (draw a tree and write the things for which they are thankful on the leaves), or “thankful turkey” (write on the turkey’s tail feathers.)

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