Being Thankful & Giving Thanks

Raising Thankful Kids

By Sherrie Le Masurier

With life as busy as it is, how do we make time to count our daily blessings and teach our children about the importance of giving thanks for all that they have?

Many of today’s children have little or no sense of how fortunate they are to be healthy, to have a nice home and to never go to bed hungry. There seems to be an entitlement epidemic out there – affecting both kids and adults alike. Many people expect their fair share of wealth and well being regardless of the effort put forth. Our own actions are often mirrored by our children and it isn’t until we see ourselves in them, do we realize just how much we take granted on a daily basis.

Modelling thankfulness is the first step in teaching our kids to do as we do. Being thankful and appreciative of someone’s efforts can be as simple as giving your spouse a hug for helping with the dishes or telling your child how much you appreciate the fact he cleaned up his room without being asked.

Feeling appreciated is a pleasure people of all ages should experience. Think about the last time you did a courtesy for someone who really needed a break. Didn’t it feel good to see a smile come across their face? Kids can learn so much from helping others and making a small but positive difference in someone’s day. Sometimes efforts go unacknowledged or are rebuffed, that too, can be positive as it serves as a reminder of just how important it is to say thanks.

You can also heighten your child’s awareness of what others do for him by taking some quiet time out to talk about how as a family everyone contributes to each other’s lives.

New York psychologist Michael Schulman, Ph.D., and author of Bringing Up a Moral Child (Doubleday) suggests making a chart listing everything each family member did during the day with someone else’s needs in mind. This graphic illustration will show kids not only how much they personally give out but how much their parent(s) contribute to their well being.

Imaginative expressions of gratitude go along way especially when they come from children. Pre-printed printed thank you notes are nice but wouldn’t you rather have a handmade note of thanks from a child displayed on your fridge? Get kids into the thank you act at a young age by using their handprints on handcrafted cards. As they grow, have them print their own messages of thanks. Add fun to the process and encourage their creativity by baking a giant cookie and writing a “you’re sweet” message with icing or designing a certificate for the “World’s Best Aunt”.

Chores are other area of appreciation. Not only do they make children responsible for themselves, they also show them some of what is involved in maintaining a household. By sharing in the effort himself, a child may gain a greater sense of what parents do. If the dirty clothes our kids carelessly drop on their floor magically reappear days later laundered and back in the closet, where does the appreciation angle come in?

Working side by side your children on a project can be a true gift in itself. It's one of the best ways to bond and get something accomplished in the process.

And what about personally involving your children in helping those less fortunate? This can be achieved by asking them to sort through clothes and toys for a charity donation or better still, become family volunteers with a local non-profit organization. A greater appreciation of their own circumstances comes when children are made aware of others who must to make do with less.

Finally, by making a daily ritual of giving thanks we also pause to appreciate all the good in our lives. Whether it’s going around the table and sharing what we are grateful for or recalling the happiest moment of each day and acknowledging the person who was responsible for that joy - we remind ourselves of the blessings before us.