1. Share a gratitude journal for 30 days
Listing out a few things we are grateful for each day can have a positive impact on our mood, attitude, and relationships.
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Each day, list three to five things you and your child are grateful for. Share with each other what you wrote and encourage each other along the way. If he or she would rather not show you the diary, be okay with it, just ask your child once in a while, “How do you feel after you’ve written what you are grateful for?”
2. Notice and savor the small stuff
We can help our children become noticers of the good by:
- Pausing to notice and “take in” the beauty of a sunset / tree leaves colors / a cute puppy etc.
-Appreciating a stranger holding the door open for you and your child, talk about it with your child.
-Stopping in the park. There is something about nature that evokes gratitude the easiest.
- Pausing to notice and “take in” the beauty of a sunset / tree leaves colors / a cute puppy etc.
-Appreciating a stranger holding the door open for you and your child, talk about it with your child.
-Stopping in the park. There is something about nature that evokes gratitude the easiest.
3. Write a gratitude letter
Take some time to sit down with your child and write a gratitude letter to a family member or anyone else your child thinks of.
Remember: Don’t go for perfection- go for authenticity.
Remember: Don’t go for perfection- go for authenticity.
You and your child might not only make someone’s day, but make their life. And even if you end up deciding you do not want to mail the letter, just writing it and implementing the rest of the steps mentioned above will slowly turn your child into a grateful human being.
And don't forget - children model their parents behavior. Be grateful. xo