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How to Teach Gratitude to Kids

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Happiness is a skill that parents can teach their children and the relationship between gratitude and happiness is really strong. People who spend more time doing things that express their gratitude tend to be considerably happier than people who don't. Here are some ways to help your children become happier and more certain about themselves by learning to express gratitude on a regular basis.


  1. 1
    Help your kids practice cataloging things that they feel grateful for. For example:
    • Keep a gratitude journal
    • Keep a family gratitude list and post it on the refrigerator
    • Go around the dinner table at dinnertime and have everyone say something that they're grateful for
  2. 2
    Appreciate the broad things and the little things. Gratitude can be as simple as being grateful for being born, or being grateful for specific things such as a new puppy, doll, or toy. All of this counts in practicing gratitude with your kids.
  3. 3
    Practice gratitude regularly. You can do it daily but research shows that even just doing it once a week will have a considerable effect and all kinds of benefits.
  4. 4
    Smell the roses. Savor positive experiences; doing so tends to amplify the pleasant emotions that you might be feeling.
  5. 5
    Have your kids tell you three good things when you put them to bed each night. This should relate to things that happened to them that day or that they did during the day. This gives them a lens through gratitude glasses. Practicing this routine at the end of the day will help teach your children to slow down, savor the moment, and notice things that they feel appreciative about and should be thankful for.
  6. 6
    Write gratitude letters. This is a souped-up version of the thank you note. Teach your kids to think about writing a letter to somebody like a teacher, or a family member who has done something for them that has gone with little gratitude. This teaches them that it is not just about when somebody gives you something material but when somebody really does something for you. Help your child write the letter - they can dictate for you if they're younger. Talk about what they feel grateful for and then take them to deliver it in person and read it out loud.
  7. 7
    Don't label your children. When we say that our children are really talented at something, we actually set this talent in stone and suggest that it doesn't change. It creates a "fixed mindset"; it means that we believe that talents and anything that a kid is good at are inborn. This label is one that they haven't necessarily earned and they got it just by being born. Instead, change that fixed mindset to be more of a growth mindset, then we start to value the role of effort a little bit more.
    • A fixed mindset example would be: "You did great on that test. You must be really smart."
    • The growth mindset would be: "You did really great on that test. You must have tried really hard." This mindset gives kids something to really hang their hat on.
  8. 8
    Model gratitude and appreciation. Say thank you or "I appreciate..." to family members, friends, and others.

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Things You'll Need

  • Journal or similar book

Article Info

Categories: Raising Children

In other languages:

Русский: научить детей благодарности

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