This Thanksgiving let’s all encourage each other and especially our children to develop grateful hearts that bless others. When children are very young, it’s easy to remind them to say, “Thank you,” but as kids grow, so does their need to say more than a quick thanks. Their challenge is to develop a thankful heart. The following ideas are intentional ways to help your children grow in the area of gratitude.
Some parenting experiences are nearly universal. There is just so much pride in hearing these two words come out of your child’s mouth without you first having to nudge them along “Thank you.”
Based on the scientific literature, gratitude consists of four parts: What we notice in our lives for which we can be grateful. How we think about why we have been given those things. How we feel about the things we have been given. What we do to express appreciation in turn.
Older children and adults are more likely to spontaneously engage in all four parts of gratitude, but younger children may only engage in some of these parts, only when prompted. Children may show more gratitude as they gain cognitive skills, collect practice with those skills, and begin to connect the notice, think, and feel parts of experiencing gratitude with the do part of expressing gratitude.
