Gratitude

You don’t need to turn your son or daughter into a little Pollyanna to raise a child who knows how to show gratitude. Instead, you can adjust a few things in your child’s life and reap the benefits of a preschooler who knows how to appreciate even the smallest things. Try the following techniques to cultivate thankfulness in your child’s life:

• Model gratitude. Your child will learn much more from your attitude than he or she will from your reprimands. Be sure to appreciate the little things in your own life and your child will automatically follow suit. Share with your kids over dinner what you enjoyed during your day and encourage them to tell you about something pleasant in their day too.
• Smile in spite of difficulties. One of the hardest things to do as a parent is to answer children’s questions about why there is suffering in the world. It is hard because there is no clear-cut answer to this question. Maintaining a grateful attitude when things go wrong is one of the most important resilience skills parents can equip their children with. Sometimes, not trying to understand why bad things happen is the wisest thing to do. Instead, focus on helping your kids understand that their reaction to pain or suffering will greatly turn things around.
• Delay gratification. Delayed gratification can benefit your kids as it teaches them to learn to wait for the things that they really want. Don’t meet their wants immediately even if you can afford it. Waiting and even working for a desired reward, such as a new toy or a family trip, would help cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your kids. 
• Show your kids the world. Make sure that your kids know and experience firsthand that all people don’t live in the same circumstances. Don’t shield them from concepts such as poverty and famine; rather, guide and show them appropriate images or places that can widen their thoughts about how people live.                                                                                                                                

Living with gratitude is one of the secrets to a happy life. There are few other things that will contribute as much to the memory of a happy childhood than thankfulness. If your aim is to give your children a happy childhood, help them live a thankful life.