Gratitude: Teaching Kids To Use Facial Expressions To Show Appreciation

We all want our kids to show gratitude. There is power in a warm “thank you”, but often the facial expression that comes first gives away the true emotion. Here’s how to use facial expressions to show appreciation when it matters most:

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Years ago I lived in Rome, Italy.

5 of us lived in one house and we were great friends. One of the lovely ladies, a truly sweet woman, used to make this one facial expression. It was playful and quick, but it clearly communicated “gross.”

If you had a drink she didn’t like… the gross face.

Or talked about something she didn’t agree with… the gross face.

One day after she made that face, one of us mentioned it. We said it hurt our feelings. That we knew she was actually very sweet spirited, but the face was… well.. kinda mean.

All of us had noticed it.

After that, I don’t recall her ever making that face again.

The power of facial expressions….

Just like we teach our kids how to tie their shoes, brush their teeth, and make their beds… we can also teach them how important body language is.

Because of this, you can see why using facial expressions to show appreciation can be a valuable skill to teach.

Teach kids about emotions & non-verbal communicating cues.

We all know that non-verbal skills are essential for communicating. Eye contact, body language, and facial expressions… these are key components in communicating.

It’s not all about verbal language

I recently learned that when a baby is born, they have all the components necessary in their little faces to make all known facial expressions.

Pretty cool, right?

So, even a baby can begin to non-verbally communicate by simply feeling an emotion and showing it on their face.

Enjoyment, interest, joy, surprise, disgust, sadness... all available to show in facial expressions from birth. This got me thinking about how early appreciation can be shown in a child’s face.

So, how can facial expressions that show appreciation be taught?

Having the right facial expression (to really show appreciation) can really be helpful when coming into the holidays.

First of all, your kids are probably going to be given gifts at family events, participate in class parties at school, and more…

I learned early on with my kiddos that teaching them some simple non-verbal cues and facial expressions helped them navigate through these times.

Read: What Does a Healthy Worldview Have to Do With Gratitude?

1. Start by teaching about emotions

Emotion cards are a great way to teach children how to interpret and understand the emotions they face in live.

Teaching kids non-verbal communicating skills uses facial expression recognition. Ultimately, a child will have to understand how to gauge how they are feeling and assign an appropriate facial expression to communicate effectively.

Just like my friend who unwillingly displayed the wrong emotion and then changed because it provoked the wrong feeling… kids can be taught to show genuine appreciative emotions on their face.

This begins with education about emotions and how to understand what they’re feeling.

2. Assign emotions & model facial expressions that correctly show appreciation

Ask yourself this question: Are my kids attentive to my facial expressions?

My kids will tell you that they can look at my face and in an instant, tell how I am feeling.

Play some facial expression games

• Make an exaggerated face
• ask your child what you are feeling
• have them make a face
• be silly and guess (maybe even guess the opposite)

Role playing is fun for kids and they learn a lot. We even do this when we are sleep training toddlers, it goes a long way.

Read: Quiet time (Rest time) for Toddlers: All You Need to Know

3. Finally, allow opportunity and practice

Grab an emotions card, create a pretend situation, and practice learning to show appreciation. Then, allow some practice time and make it enjoyable for your littles.

• Roll play various situations that would require appreciation.
• Make a thumb’s up/thumb’s down game out of which facial expression is good to show appreciation.
• Aquire some read aloud books that bring up the emotion of thankfulness and instruct children to show, draw, or explain how their face should look in this situation.

These types of simple lessons and practices can foster real bonding moments between a mother and her children. Furthermore, these lessons make space for valuable discussions and relationship building moments.

Don’t forget to mindfully acknowledge your kids’s facial expressions throughout the day.

Finally, When they are showing appreciation on their face, let them know. It is very rewarding for a child to know that they have touched the heart of their parent or loved one with the expression on their face.