Five Ways to Teach Your Children to Give Thanks

It’s important to remember that giving thanks and helping others isn’t just relevant on Thanksgiving Day. You can incorporate simple, daily ways that instill and cultivate your kids to have a sense of gratitude and a readiness to help others throughout the entire year. Before the holidays throw you into a frenzy, adopt these five simple ways to practice thankfulness in your house.

Make “Thank You” Mandatory

Kids need constant reminders before a desired action or response becomes automatic. Remind your children always to say thank you and explain why that action is important whenever necessary. Similarly, make writing thank you notes a mandatory part of receiving a gift or a way to express appreciation to anyone who has gone out of their way for them. Children who can’t yet write can talk about what they like about a gift, why it was thoughtful, and can help you create a note by adding a personal drawing or even signing their name to it.

Lead By Example

Show your kids daily that you are grateful by making it a point to express your gratitude with simple statements. Some examples of this may be, “it’s such a beautiful day!” or “we are so fortunate to be together today.” It’s also important to always thank the people you and your children encounter throughout your day, whether it’s the checkout clerk at the grocery store or someone who holds the door open for you.

Give Back to The Community

Routinely giving to others provides opportunities to talk to your children about the needs of others and to instill and nurture their compassion and sense of giving back to their community. When shopping, have your little ones pick out canned items to donate to a Thanksgiving food drive or choose personal care items to contribute to a shelter. Prepare for the holidays by cleaning out your closets and encouraging your children to donate toys they no longer use or clothes they’ve outgrown. Explain to them the difference they are making by sharing with others.

Volunteer Together

Volunteering teaches social responsibility and helps children develop empathy and a belief that one person can make a difference. Research from the United Way shows that volunteering can benefit a child’s psychological, social, and intellectual development. There are ways to volunteer as a family, including helping at food banks and shelters, environmental clean-ups, and visits to the elderly.

Create Holiday Traditions That Show Thanks

Holidays are an excellent time to show thankfulness. Creating holiday traditions around gratitude and giving ensures that your child sees the holidays as unique for reasons other than commercial ones. Make kids part of Thanksgiving celebrations by having them share what they are thankful for. A thoughtful project to do together is to create cards for your holiday guests that include a simple statement about why you are grateful for them. Take it a step further by showing appreciation for those outside your family, including teachers, sitters, and your neighborhood police and firefighters. A wonderful tradition is to take a plate of homemade cookies to your local fire station each holiday season or to bring treats to a children’s hospital or nursing homes.