Practicing Gratitude

Gratitude is the act of being aware and recognizing the good in our lives. It’s being thankful for all that we have. This can include things, people, or even situations.

Being grateful may take some practice and it is something we can – and should – choose to do. There are many benefits to feeling grateful and practicing gratitude. Some of these are:

• Increased happiness
• Improved health and well-being
• Spreads happiness to others
• Helps in coping with difficult situations
• Could help a person manage feelings of anxiousness and sadness

We should let children and teens know that having gratitude can’t change our circumstances, and it’s okay to feel sad, frustrated, angry, etc. when things are hard. But practicing gratitude can help us to cope and help us to hope for a brighter future. On some days, it is difficult to feel gratitude – that is okay. But, in general, practicing gratitude can have many benefits for our kids and for us.

Some people get into the practice of talking about gratitude with their kids in the mornings before school or during dinner in the evenings. Ask about their day. What are they grateful for on this particular day? How does gratitude help them feel? What could the family be grateful for?

Helping Children and Teens to Practice Gratitude

• Have a gratitude jar: Write things that you are grateful for on slips of paper and put them into the jar. Once a week or every night, read them together.
• Write in a gratitude journal.
• Create a gratitude collage.
• Tell someone that you’re grateful for them and why each day. Share with your kids about this experience.
• Write a thank you note to someone as a family.
• Do acts of kindness for others.
• Set aside time every day to think about what you’re grateful for and encourage kids to do the same.
• Model gratitude: Talk openly about what you are grateful for.
• Express what you’re thankful for on social media.
• Point out the generosity of others.
• Talk about past times that were difficult and why you’re grateful that they have improved.
• Volunteer to help others, such as at a food pantry.
• Young children may draw things that they are thankful for.
• Make gratitude-sharing part of the bedtime routine.
• Remember to thank children for the things they do, such as helping around the house, doing their homework, and being kind.
• Read books about gratitude.
• Take a walk as a family and point out things in nature that you are grateful for.

1. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_can_help_you_through_hard_times
2. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/resilience/