Effective Ways to Raise Grateful Children

Do you want your children to be grateful to you and everyone around? Here are a few effective ways to raise grateful children.As your kids grow up, it is important to teach them gratitude. They need to learn such qualities so they are always appreciated and loved by one and all.Here are a few tips to raise grateful children: In this articleTeach Them to Say ThanksProtect and Preserve NatureKeeping a Gratitude JournalDo CharityTravel MoreHumbleness and Gratitude Go HandinHandHelping the Old, Weak and DisabledPraying Before MealTimesTeach Them to Say ThanksTell kids the importance of saying thanks. Whether it is grand-mother who goes out of the way to prepare your child’s favourite dish or grand-pa who spends quality time, it is important for kids to say thanks and feel grateful. Taking time to stop and say thanks to the driver after stepping down from the taxi and such other little actions will help your child learn the value of good behaviour.Protect and Preserve NatureChildren should be grateful to Mother Nature who gives us so much. Whether it is fruits and vegetables for nourishment or shade on a hot summer day, trees and other plants offer us so much. Hence, instead of cutting down trees teach your children to be grateful to Mother Earth for all that she provides. Oxygen comes from trees without which man cannot survive.Keeping a Gratitude JournalResearch has shown that gratitude reduces levels of stress and makes children positive and happy. Hence, every night before your child goes to bed, write down a list of things which helped him during the day. Whether it was a friend who shared her tiffin or father who dropped him to school, keeping a gratitude journal will help your child focus on the good stuff.Do CharityAll religions emphasize the importance of charity. Whether your child is big or small, teach him or her to set aside a small amount of pocket money every day in order to bring a smile on someone’s face. Take your child to an orphanage to donate old clothes or toys. Teach your kids the value of giving others and helping those who are not lucky to even get warm food or shelter.Travel MoreInstead of always staying at home, take your kids out for vacations and holidays. Let them see the world so that their mind opens up. Take your kids for trips to various places like Golden Temple in Amritsar, Vaishnodevi, etc. Going to religious places and shrines will broaden their outlook and turn them into better human beings. Once they learn the value of God, they will automatically feel good.Humbleness and Gratitude Go Hand-in-HandWhenever your children trouble you, teach them the importance of being good. Children need to learn to appreciate dad’s hard earned money which brings food to the table and mom’s ever-lasting love and importance. Do not neglect the small acts of kindness which can turn your child into a humble person because humility will completely transform them and turn them into beloved humans.Helping the Old, Weak and DisabledTake your child to a centre for handicapped person and encourage your child to mingle with those who are less fortunate. Children should learn to accept all kinds of people which will make them more understanding. Small acts of kindness such as lifting groceries of neighbour or helping a blind man cross the road can teach your child to respect others and feel sympathy.Praying Before Meal-TimesEvery day before eating food, children should learn to say a short prayer thanking God for the food which they have. Teach your kids to never criticize or waste food because as we all know there are so many who go to bed hungry without having even a morsel of food or drop of water. Hence, kids should be taught to pray before eating and happily accept whatever Mom prepares without saying ‘No’.Thus, teach your children to be grateful and thankful for all that they have. As we all know nothing comes for free and everything comes at a cost. Life is easy for some and difficult for some others. Hence, teach your kids to be grateful for whatever they have and never refuse to help those in need.What are the ways to inculcate gratefulness in children? Why is it important to cultivate gratefulness in children? In what ways do children who lack gratitude lag behind? Discuss here.