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.)