Do you want your child to be more grateful for all that they have? Exploring gratitude will not only help your children to appreciate their family and belongings, but it will also support their mental health and give them valuable coping skills.
Here are some great tips from an independent school in London on how to explore gratitude with your child…
Demonstrate your own gratefulness
If you would like your child to understand gratitude then it is essential to demonstrate gratefulness in your daily life. You can do this by regularly talking about out how lucky and appreciative you feel. This could be after enjoying a family meal or during a fun family adventure.
Avoid negativity
Help your child to develop an optimistic mind set by avoiding negative comments when something goes wrong and being grateful for the positives. Teach your child to look on the bright side using the ‘glass half full or half empty’ example. Show them how to search for the good even in bad situations and encourage your child to view mistakes as learning opportunities.
Give thanks
Help your child to understand why it is important to say thank you and show appreciation to others. For example, you could encourage them to thank a teacher by making a thoughtful gift. These small gestures teach children kindness and help them to appreciate who they have around them.
Practice gratitude
Encourage your child to practise daily gratitude, by taking note of all of the positives in their life. This is such an effective technique for supporting their mental health and wellbeing. One way to do this is by giving your child a notebook to use as a gratitude journal. Ask your child to list all of the things they are grateful for in this journal. This could be a person, a pet or simply a daily event that made them happy.