As a parent, you always want what is best for your child. You want them to be happy and confident...  And If you are anything like me, you're always looking for ways to help them grow into kind, happy and grateful leaders.

But sometimes, getting kids to remember to be grateful for the things they get in their life takes a little extra care and effort.

So today, I wanna help you by sharing this with you... 

Here are some simple yet super effective ways you can instill the attitude of gratitude in your home... 

And of course, you (yourself) can practice this too!!! It's not just for the kids 🙂

Make a Gratitude Journal

I know that some people (myself included) struggle with doing gratitude practice into a habit, so I decided to try something different... 

• Instead of just telling each other what we're thankful for, we decided to write it down as well. 
  
  
• Each day, we spend a couple of minutes writing down the best things that happened that day, and we don't force ourselves to share them with each other or anyone else! 
  
  It can be our own private space for reflection.
  
  This has been really helpful in building our resilience, feeling more connected and happier, and honestly creating skills for life. 
  When done together as a family, it truly strengthens your relationships and brings so much mindfulness into your day.
  
  I know I sent you our FREE 21-day Gratitude Journal a little while ago - and you can still download it here.
  
  But I've also created a different Gratitude Worksheet with Daily Journal Prompts as well - just so we can dig a little deeper into the feelings of gratitude. You can download it here for FREE.  

Find gratitude in darker times

• When your child is perhaps struggling through darker times/feelings, try and look for a small piece of light.Being able to acknowledge that you still have something to be grateful for, during this kind of experience is a skill that’s worth working on.
  
  
• For example when my daughter is feeling jealous because it's her little sister's birthday- which is of course a natural reaction and feeling to experience.

  I tell her, "It's ok to feel this way - all feelings are ok to feel. What is something we can be grateful for right now in this moment? Like perhaps the comfortable favorite pajamas you're wearing."
  

• It doesn’t mean forgetting the feeling or trying to gloss over it – just look for a tiny sliver of good in every moment.
  
  It doesn’t matter if the reason for your gratitude seems small or silly or weird—just find something about your present situation that makes you smile and say it out loud!
  
  

Let's Model gratitude

• Ultimately  - children model what they see and you are your child's primary teacher. 
  
  
• Gratitude can be learned at any age, but it is especially important for children to learn the skills of gratitude as they are then able to express gratitude to the world around them. 
  
  And if our children don't see us practicing gratitude, they may never learn how important it is.
  
  If we want our children to be grateful, we MUST model gratitude ourselves. 
  
  Say"thank you" when you mean it, and make sure your child knows when you are grateful for something they do too. 
  
  Children always look to adults to model their own behavior so make sure you practice what you preach.

And REMEMBER, our gratitude resources are not just for your child to use and learn from  - they are for you too!

I hope you found this information helpful and, most of all, that you use it to make a difference in your life. 

The world is a better place because of people like you!

Would love it if you wanted to share it with me - what's your favorite gratitude practice?