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Why Can’t Kids Get a 29-Year Head Start?

29 years? I started happy habits when I was 34. If only I were taught such habits during my primary school days.

If kids start habits of happiness when 5 or younger the seed is planted, the cultivation process occurs through primary school and high school years and harvest occurs in adulthood.


Kids being exposed to the above habits from the age of 5 will create a revolution of grateful, happy, kind, optimistic, mindful, giving and successful people, allowing this generation to stamp its presence on the world.

Growing with Gratitude is designed to make it simple for teachers to implement in schools.

Parents and Teachers: It must start at home and in the classroom.

Encouraging and modelling happy habits are not just to set a good example for your children or your class the positive impact for you will be life changing. I’ll tell you why I think this.

Yes, research has proved that simple activities can lead to happiness. For example: Writing 3 things you are grateful for, reflecting by writing down a positive event from your day. I would love to share with you why simple activities have changed my life.

1 Example of how gratitude has changed my life:

I now use gratitude to give me a boost of happiness or bring me back to neutral. If I am stressed or had a bad day I do the following:

  1. I Stop and reflect on something I am grateful for, i.e. I will have a meal to eat tonight.
  1. I take a deep breathe and reflect on how lucky I am to be having a   meal tonight.
  1. Empathise, i.e. I think of those who may not be having a meal tonight and again I realise how grateful I am.
  1. I take another deep breathe and I let go of my stress or the bad experience from the day by appreciating how lucky I am to be having a meal and realising my issues are minuscule in comparison to other peoples.

2 More ways gratitude has change my life

  1. I am grateful for my sight and being able to read: I never used to be much of a reader. Now I read a minimum of 10 pages of a book that I can learn something from. For e.g. books on property, finance, positive psychology, business, forming habits, etc. That works out to be roughly 15 books a year. The reason I started to read is I am grateful for my sight and the ability to read. A lot of people do not have these 2 things. I need to make the most of these privileges.
  1. I am grateful for having full movement of my limbs: This inspires me to exercise and make use of my limbs to there full capability. This is a privilege because many people do not have the full capacity to use their limbs and they would do anything to have use of their hands, arms and legs. This is one strong reason among other benefits I exercise everyday.

Habits of happiness bring families together

In a pilot test of Growing with Gratitude the feedback from parents was it brought families together. Family feedback suggested it was a fantastic way to communicate and create a happy atmosphere in the family home.

Simple activities such as: writing or discussing at the dinner table a positive each family member experienced during the day or writing or discussing as a family what they are grateful for are powerful actions. It helps our brains scan for positives across a day.

3 Action Steps

  1. Commit to helping your kids by forming a family ritual of expressing what you as a family are grateful for.
  2. When you or your kids are having a bad day remind yourself and your kids of how lucky you are by reflecting on something you have previously discussed about being grateful for.
  3. Follow through. Don’t just be excited and enthusiastic for a week or 2. Be consistent, be in it for the long haul so you and your kids can form the habit of being grateful. This habit is powerful. It will allow you to work through many difficult situations.

What activities are you doing at home or in the classroom to promote happiness? Post a comment

By | 2015-02-18T06:43:02+00:00 February 18th, 2015|Blog|0 Comments

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