Thank you on chalk board

Gratitude

Dec 31, 2022, 00:00 AM by Sally Robinson

Thank you on chalk board

All five of the major religions have as an important part of their belief system, the concept of gratitude.  Gratitude is the thankful awareness of what an individual receives, whether it is something material or an emotional feeling. It is a conscious awareness of what is good in one’s life.  Gratitude helps people connect with something larger than themselves as individuals, to other people, to nature or to a higher power.

The winter months bring holidays that emphasize the concept of gratitude and give families an opportunity to pause and to appreciate gratitude in their lives.   Research has shown that gratitude helps people feel more positive, enjoy good experiences, improve their health, cope better with adversity and build stronger interpersonal relationships.  It has shown that exercises of expressing gratitude can have long time beneficial effects on mental health. What parent would not want these benefits for their children?

Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, MD has discussed “12 Tips for Teaching Gratitude” in healthychildren.org.  These tips can help build a habit of gratitude and decrease a sense of entitlement and the whining associated with it.  First she suggest that you surprise them so they see the surprise as a gift and not an entitlement.  Find some time to talk each day, not just Thanksgiving, about what was the best part of the day and what you are thankful for.  Older children have benefitted from writing down five things they were grateful for every day for two weeks.  Three weeks later they had a better outlook and greater life satisfaction than those children who were assigned to write down five hassles.  Find someone in your everyday life who doesn’t “need” charity but who would benefit from something your child can do for them.  Help bring up the paper to the door or help with the garden.

Focus on the positive all day long. Attitude is a choice. Concentrate on overturning whining and complaining into something positive.  Instead of “I’m thirty” say “Mommy, may I please have a glass of water?” And perhaps the most important thing of all is to say “thank you”.  Encourage school age children to say “thank you” throughout the day. It is important for children to thank people when they do something for them even when the task is part of the expected duties such as thanking a parent for driving them to school or thanking the piano teacher for their lesson.

It is important for parents to lead by example and say thank you to your children when they do their expected tasks in addition to all the people who help us in our daily lives.  Everyone is happier.

Gratitude helps all people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack.  Don’t forget the magic words: “thank you”, “good job”, “that was very kind of you”, “thanks for helping” and perhaps the most important “I appreciate you”.


Useful suggestions, tips and videos can be found here:  Healthychildren.org
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