A Month of Gratitude
With Halloween in the rearview mirror and Thanksgiving on the horizon, it’s time to start thinking about gratitude as we enter into the holiday season. Candy consumption can be an overwhelming experience for our little tikes with beginning to understand limits and being thankful for what we receive. So with that in mind we have an easy challenge for parents and their kids to help facilitate the conversation surrounding what they are grateful for.
First Step:
Share the Thanksgiving story with your kids.
Here are three links about the history of Thanksgiving. Provided are two articles (one for kids and one for parents) to refreshen our minds on the history of Thanksgiving and how it came to be. We also have found a short cartoon about the Thanksgiving story.
Here are the links:
Story of Thanksgiving for Kids
History of Thanksgiving For Parents
Second Step – For Your Kids
Starting this week before putting your kiddos to bed tell them that you are going to be asking them what they are thankful for and what made them feel happy during that day. The important follow-up question is to ask them why the “thing” or event made them feel happy or thankful. This is a good way to start building connections with what they like and why they like it.
When Thanksgiving arrives, you can ask your kids what they were most thankful for during the last month and the reason it made the top of their list. Who knows, maybe it will be the fun question and answer game you’ve been playing with them all month?
Third Step – For Parents
1. Every day tell your kids one reason that you are thankful for them. Maybe because you think they are funny, maybe you are grateful that they listened the first time you asked them to put their socks and shoes on? We know that every morning that tops our list!
2. Give thanks to one new person every day for the rest of the month. Start with those closest to you and then move out into co-workers, people you meet, etc. When you do this, be specific for why you are grateful for this person. The more details and specific reasons you can tell the other person why you are thankful to have them in your life, the more impact and happiness you create in the person you are telling. If you’re not a talker, no problem – send them a handwritten note or even an email.
There are countless ways that you can get creative to tell the ones you love and cherish in your life that you appreciate who they are, and why you are glad that they are a part of your life.