Here are some simple easy ways to help cultivate a spirit of thankfulness, gratefulness, and appreciation in your kids. Check out the awesome ideas (included in this post) some of you gave too!
Last year I could see my kids had gone off the rails a bit in terms of gratitude.
They were given one thing, they wanted another. They went somewhere cool, it wasn’t as cool as another place.
Someone got something new, all their toys were junk.
You get the picture.
It irked me heavily at first and I gave a lot of side eyes. And then… one day…. I realized that I’d been complicit in this.
It is actually human nature to be selfish.
I also get something new and want something better. Or see someone with something else and think my own version is old news. And… if I don’t purposefully cultivate a thankful heart…
I also don’t have one.
So instead of feeling like all my kids were rotten to the core for this natural human instinct, I set out to make this a focus for our family. And it’s worked.
Read: What Does a Healthy Worldview Have to Do With Gratitude?
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
What's in this post...
Everyday Ways to Encourage a Thankful Heart
Thankfulness is not just taught, its emulated.
In other words, what a child sees they will repeat. The first and foremost thing any mom can do to encourage a thankful heart is to have one herself.
This doesn’t mean that she has to always be happy… life happens. However, if we let ourselves have real emotions based on our real situations and also have a perspective of thankfulness, our kids will watch and learn.
In everything give thanks…
1 Thessalonians 5:18
As a family, we have experienced our hard times… times where I had every reason not to be thankful. But…if I kept my head up during those times I noticed that my kids outlook on their situations was good too.
Food for thought: you will never teach your children not be whiney by whining yourself all the time.
Here are three every day things that will encourage a thankful heart in your children:
Gratitude is a learned skill. Help avoid selfishness and entitlement by nurturing gratitude.
Learn More1. Teach the root of the matter
Let me explain… being thankful and grateful comes from a root of contentment. Sure, things happen in life we don’t like but we can validate our children’s emotions, not telling them to feel what they don’t feel, while also encouraging contentment.
Here’s WHY this helps to encourage a thankful heart:
- Truly having a thankful heart shows up when kids aren’t just feeling happy, but continue to be content.
- When a child learns they can feel gratitude in nearly any situation, they actually enjoy themselves much more.
Want to help develop your child’s strengths Use these cards to dive into the character qualities and how your child does – and can in the future = exhibit them in their own life.
Learn More2. Use your words wisely
Words have power and they can make or break the morale of your children and the family culture you’re establishing.
Also, kids are always listening. My eight year old prides himself in always sneaking to listen to whatever hushed conversation my husband and I are having.
Needless to say, I have to be careful if he is anywhere near.
I strive to make sure that my words are showing my “thankful heart” and I’m voicing these – where my children can hear.
Everyday thankful sayings:
- It’s a lovely day, isn’t it?
- It’s nice to have time together.
- I’m so thankful for all of the blessings God has given our family.
- I love your personality.
- Even though I wish that would have happened differently, I’m thankful that we’re safe and taken care of.
- I like eating lunch with you.
- I really appreciate how helpful you are.
Showing thankfulness though words is contagious. I absolutely love being out with friends and hearing my children use thankful language.
Read: What Kids Resist Today but Appreciate Tomorrow
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Thankful words come from a grateful heart. And when we show thankfulness though our words… the heart follows.
Read: Life Skills That Thanksgiving Teaches Kids
This is a small gesture but it had an impact on my children because they are parents themselves now, and want to carry it on.rn rnEvery night at supper, I would ask what was the best moment of their day. The moment that they were most grateful for. My husband and I would also participate. I could observe how there emotional and social development was evolving with there answers as they grew. This exercise was especially important when they were having a tough time and couldn’t identify anything to be grateful for (teen years lol). rn rnSome nights we were in a rush, and I would forget to ask the question. My daughter would get upset! rn rnTo this day , when we get together for a meal, my 24 year old daughter and my 26 year old son still sometimes ask the question? What were you grateful for today? “rnrn-Judith rn
3. Use positive reinforcement
Be thankful for what you have, and you’ll end up having more.
You’ve got to be careful with this one because you don’t want to train your kids to always need a tangible reward for behaving properly.
None the less, this can be a positive way to encourage a thankful heart. This works because it follows the laws of the natural world.
I teach my children that when they show gratitude it makes them more likely to get privileges or other nice things from me. If I give something nice and they don’t care, then I’m less likely to do it again. That’s just how the world works.
Everybody loves to see children who are thankful and full of joy when receiving something nice.
Some of the things we do at home is making sure our kids show manners. rnrnLike, my 2 year old (who is still learning to speak due to learning how to speak 2 languages at once ) will ask for me to refill his water bottle, so he very sweetly asks “more water, please” and he says thank you (usually without prompting now) when I give him his water bottle nice and full. rnrnWe do this with both of our boys and, although sometimes we can tell they’re only saying thank you because we’ve asked them to, they still try to show their good manners. rn rnAnother thing we try to do each night is ask them what they’re grateful for when we pray together before their bedtime. We have been trying to teach them both to be thankful during our prayer time and we hope to see them participate more fully soon.” rnrn-Adrianarn
The idea here is to teach the principle that thankfulness breeds contentment. And contentment will give you more opportunities and allow more favor on your life. Contentment breeds happiness and that leads to thankfulness.
It’s an outward, inward approach that works for children.
Read: The All Time Best Thanksgiving Books For Kids (And Adults)
Pull out these fun connecting questions to share some laughs with your precious ones!
Use them at:
- meal times
- car rides
- as a “calm down” trick
- for dinner time conversation
- or any time the day is getting chaotic or
- you need a reset to connect.
Simple Gratitude Activities You Can Do with Everyday Items
Looking for some simple gratitude activities that you can do to teach littles about thankfulness? I have compiled some great ideas here:
Something small we started doing this year is a “Gratitude Pumpkin”. rnrnThis is where we write down things we are thankful for on the pumpkin. It seriously has gone a long way with my 4 and 2 year old and getting us thinking (and seeing!) how much we have to be thankful for.” rnrn-Sara
- Gratitude Wall – Each night ask your children something they are thankful for and write it on an index card. Hang it on the wall and watch it grow. It is fun to go back and read the things each night.
- Paint Stones- Use acrylic paint to paint a picture of what you’re thankful for and place in garden or on a window seal. You can also take a sharpie and write the item over the paint when dried.
- Paper Flower Garden – This one works great with multiple children. Cut out flower petals and stems out of construction paper. Have child write/draw things they are thankful for on each petal. Then construct the garden of flowers as a family and glue to poster board.
- Write “Thank You” Cards- We do this every chance we get! Get creative or just simply use a thank you card. Including your children in this process will bring them joy as they are showing thanks to others.
Gratitude is a learned skill. Help avoid selfishness and entitlement by nurturing gratitude.
Learn MoreFor more Fun Gratitude Activities and Cracts, you can visit this Rhythms of Play website.
We have a firm habit of thank you notes. Whenever we get any gift, be it a thing or a special experience, we write a thank you note to the people who gave it to us. rnrnFor children who don’t write, they decorate the card with their drawings and I write a dictated note. My mother did this with me, and I am so grateful for the habit of taking time to express my thanks. It is not a chore any more but a joy, and I hope to give that joy to my children.” rnrn-Megan
Gratitude and Thankfulness Coloring Sheets and Lists
When is it a good time to show gratitude? Theres never a bad time! Here are some great coloring sheets resources and printables:
- Teachers Pay Teachers has lots of awesome printables on gratitude.
- Gratitude & Kindness Coloring Book
- Journaling can be a great way to practice having a thankful heart. The 3 Minute Gratitude Journal works great for a little lesson each day.
- Practice Gratitude Coloring Book is perfect for coloring with younger children.
- The Creative Gratitude Journal has lots of beautiful coloring pages and activities. This one would be perfect if your child likes lists and organizing his/her thoughts.
- Visit The Spruce Crafts page on Making Thank You Cards for some super creative ideas to make thank you card giving a fun activity.
I asked some of you to share your ideas on cultivating gratitude and thankfulness.
Here’s a few more awesome ideas.
We make a “Thankful Tree”. This is only the second year for us to do it, but the kids love it. We simply go find a few small branches in the yard and place them in a vase full of rocks so they don’t move around too much. Then we cut out construction paper leaves. Every day we each write on a leaf something we are thankful for and tape it to a branch.
Our thankful tree sits on our dining room table so its also a dinner conversation piece. It’s great to see how full the branches get as we go through the month of November. – Leslie
I thank my toddler for everything respectfully he does and show appreciation for him, whether it is saying he loves me, or pick up something in the floor, hugging, trying new things for himself, putting things away. I try to make thank you a positive affirmation and acknowledgement more than a feeling of servitude, if that makes sense. Thank you is a gift.”
-Ulona
Even though our daughter is only 3 months old, when ever we here the garbage trucks come to collect our rubbish or the postie deliver our mail we always say out loud ‘thank you for helping us!’ It’s small but we want her to understand that not everything just happens and to show gratitude for all things great and small 
”
– Cate
I have a friend whose family keeps a gratitude jar in the kitchen starting January 1. Every family member adds something to it at least once a week. They put Bible verses, ticket stubs from fun outings, match books from restaurants, Post-It notes with quotes, whatever they are grateful for that day, etc. It is their holiday tradition to empty its contents on Christmas morning and read them aloud to each other before opening present.
– Lauren
We have recognition boxes with our names on it, where we collect the recognition notes we write from time to time. I believe that, besides the obvious benefit, it helped build a great skill for our little one, who didn’t find easily examples in the beginning, but as we continued, she got better and better at identifying quickly reason to be grateful.
– Raluca
Our children’s bedtime routine includes prayer time. At the start of prayer time we each say thank you to God for something… could be a toy, something fun that happened, a person, the weather, etc anything. Sometimes we also write it down in a journal. Writing down what we are grateful/thankful for is a good habit and gives us something to look back on on days when it’s difficult to think of anything to say thankful for.
– Jacki
Here at our house I try to use an approach that helps us to practice awareness or ‘noticing’ when other people do nice things for us, so it’s not just one thing, but a practice of expressing that we noticed, and are glad.
Sometimes I give them a random reason to feel grateful (take them randomly to a play place, get them something they’ve been wishing for, let them read 15 more minutes, let them play basketball with the neighbors after dinner even though it’s bedtime, get an ice cream for no reason when school has been a drag for a while….. and then ask them how they feel in the middle of it (create a chance to notice).
We have practiced seeing a grateful face in the mirror (eyes up, a smile if you’re feeling it, but at least an effort to see what their “thank you face” looks like, and how it would make them feel if they saw that on someone’s face for whom they had just done something kind.) I have found empathy and gratitude go hand in hand here.
– Johanna F
It’s so refreshing to hear that another family had the tradition of thanking the cook. My mom made sure that we always acknowledged either the host or cook before we left or if we were at home we did it at the dinner table.
– Dayla
When I was a kid my parents had a dinner table game called “favorite thing.” We went around the table and shared what our favorite thing was that day. Their intention was for us to all find something good in the day whether we were feeling grumpy or happy. It was a great way to share our days events with each other too and most nights we went around the table a couple of times.
My son and I play this game together before bed every night. If he can’t pick a favorite thing I ask him one thing he was happy about. It’s a nice way to reflect on our day and to end the day positive. Little practice of gratitude that makes a big difference in outlook.
– Dennielle
Every year for the month of November we put up our Christmas tree but with fall florals and fall colored/themed ornaments. Then each night before bed we each list something we want to thank God for and write it down on a plain paper gift tag with a piece of twine in it and hang it on the tree.
At the end of the month we tie all the cards together and save them in our decor boxes. And bonus, when it’s time to decorate for Christmas the tree is already set up with lights on, and we can leave some of the bulbs on it too — it’s really easy to redecorate.
– Evelyn Amos
We started doing a Thanksgiving advent this year, and we are only on day 3 but I think it is going very well, and we look forward to it each evening at the dinner table.
So our church gave us an envelope with 30 cards in for month of November. The cards have a Bible verse on them and then one act of gratitude. Examples:
1. name someone in your extended family and tell why you are thankful for them.
2. think of someone who has impacted your life and write them a thank you note.
3. rake your neighbors leaves
We did add a little something and it makes the kids super excited, and reminds us more of chocolate Christmas advent calendars. My husband reads the Bible verse without saying the reference and everyone gets 2 guesses which book of the Bible they think it is in, and if they guess right they get a piece of candy.
My husband and I already talked about saving these cards for next year. The thing of it is, they would be so easy to make these yourself.
– Rochelle
A friend of mine was really good at waking up early and starting the day with a lot of energy she told me her parents would always open the curtains in her bed in the morning and say what a beautiful day it is and what nice things can be done today that really motivated her.
I sometimes mention what a beautiful day it is during the day and I have heard my son copying me.
– Caroline
Sources:
Frequently Asked Questions
Use simple language, relatable examples, and opportunities for them to experience gratitude in their own lives. For younger kids, you might say: “When we help our friend, they might say ‘thank you,’ and that makes us feel good. Saying thank you makes others feel happy too.” For older kids, an example could be: “Imagine if you worked really hard to make a beautiful drawing, and I didn’t say anything. How would you feel? Saying thank you is like telling people, ‘I see the effort you put in, and I’m thankful for it.’”
Check out this blog: How to Teach Politeness When it Matters (Hint: Situational Awareness)
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This is GOLD. I am so grateful (seriously!) for this post! It has made my heart more grateful, hopeful, and happy just reading it, and I am so encouraged to try these tips for my family 🥰
Thank you!!! All!