Teach your Children to be Grateful with a Gratitude Journal

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What is a Gratitude Journal?

Help your children to be grateful with a Gratitude journal. November is one time a year many folks start talking about what they are thankful for. At the beginning of the month, I knew I’d want to teach Nicoli (my 6 yr old) what it means to have gratitude. I want him to not take things for granted.

Thanksgiving is at the end of the month, I decided I’d take advantage of this. Teaching why we are thankful and what it means to have gratitude in our hearts. I told him to write down at least one thing per day, which he is grateful (thankful for those that may not understand) for. He is not allowed to repeat the same thing over and over.

This is a great time to teach children about gratitude. Have them write or draw what they are thankful for every day by logging it in their own gratitude journals. There is a section where your child can draw a picture or write the name of someone/something they are thankful for and add why.

Why Should We Teach Gratitude?

In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
-1 Thessalonians 5:18

The bible tells us that we all always need to give thanks for what God has given us. (Ephesians 5:20 ) If we (as parents) need to say thank you that means we should be teaching our children the same thing. You are the one that should teach your child, not someone else later in life. It is up to us, to raise them right.

There are other parts of gratitude besides please and thank you. Teach your child that giving is just as important as receiving. Help your child look for the opportunities to turn bad moments into a lesson.

Teach children that by showing their gratitude to someone can actually make both happy. Saying thank you, or giving a hug to the giver may actually put a smile on their face.

• You Don’t Want to Raise an Entitled Child

The opposite of gratitude is entitled, some would call it spoiled. I’m sure you’ve seen those kids/adults that feel that everything should be given to them the moment they want it. The ones that claim there are no rules for them.

Imagine the child that gets hysterical because they aren’t getting what they want. They are screaming at the top of their lungs, uncontrollable. Very unpleasant to be around right?

It is hard for them to make friends and many times they become selfish and self-centered. No one wants to have a child that doesn’t have manners. You don’t want to be the person wishing they’d done something different and you don’t want your child wishing that either.

• Turn a Negative into a Positive

Not every day will be a pleasant one, something bad is sure to happen at least once in your child’s life. Teach them how to turn a negative experience into something they can be grateful for. Turn that experience into a possible opportunity for growth.

Ex: Your son failed the test. Explain to them that this means either they didn’t study or need help. They can be grateful because now they can get help if needed, if not it just taught them they need to study harder.

Ex: Your daughter got dumped by her boyfriend. Instead of crying over it and getting depressed be thankful for it. (Yes, I know they all need to grieve a bit) Be thankful because she can learn why the break up or that she doesn’t want that type of person. It has made room for someone better in her life.

Related: Gratitude in the Tough Times

• It Helps Fight Depression

An attitude of gratitude is when a person makes expressing thankfulness or appreciation as part of their everyday life without even thinking about it. This can help with bad moods and even depression.

There are times in everyone’s life when things just seem unfair, hard, and scary. Even children can become depressed with life. These are the times that we need to take those negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones and remember the things God has given to us and done for us. Sometimes we need to be reminded of what we should be thankful for.

We want to teach our children that they can be grateful for every experience in life. Through every experience in life, good or bad, we are taught a lesson that we can be thankful for no matter what is going on. As a child learns this attitude of gratitude this should make fighting those bad moods a little bit easier.

• Gratitude Can Help Change their Mindset

Life is hectic, it can be stressful. Believe it or not, a simple walk can help rewire the mind. If your child is upset, have them step outside or take a walk through the house to change their mindset. Ask your child the following questions:

• Listen- Stop! What do you hear? Does it bring you joy? Why?
• Smell- Can they smell a certain scent they like? If so, what is it? Why do they like it?
• Feel- Is there something they like to feel? If your child is outside maybe he can feel a light breeze in the air. Why could he be thankful for the breeze?
• How do these feelings make them feel? Could they be thankful for each one? If so, what and why?

9 Ways to Teach Gratitude

In a world where we ask our children to make Christmas demands, and expectations and just say thank you after everything they get. They know they are supposed to say thank you because that’s what society says. We make it a routine without teaching why or how they feel.

Keep in mind if you happened to have a “spoiled” or somehow have an “ungrateful” child it is not too late to start making gratitude become a habit. Once it becomes a habit, start acknowledging it and you’ll see how much more they want to do for others.

Teaching your child to be grateful for receiving is one thing. You should teach them how to give too. A child that is always showing gratitude will be kinder to others. Don’t forget to teach them to appreciate themselves in the process.

• Volunteer– Let your child volunteer to help somewhere. It’ll teach them to be thankful for what they have but they’ll have joy in helping others. Teens may like to volunteer at a library, senior center, food pantry, etc.
• Give compliments to others– Teach your child how to give a compliment. So many adults don’t even know how to take a compliment, let alone give one. If your child has siblings have them tell each other one thing they are grateful for them and why.
• Thank you letters– Purchase a Thank You Notebook and have them start writing thank you letters for birthday or Christmas gifts. If they were recently invited to a party have them write a thank you letter for including them, etc.
• Share Gratitude around the table at dinner– Whether you do it once a week or every night go around the dinner table and have each person say one thing they are grateful for.
• Write letters of appreciation– Maybe your child hasn’t received many gifts lately, that’s okay, they can learn to write a letter telling a friend why they appreciate them.
• Take a Gratitude Walk– There are times we just need to head out of the house and take a walk to see what we are thankful for. Have them look around at the sky, the earth, and the people. Can they smell the air? Ask them what they are thankful for. What makes them happy on the walk?
• Try helping someone- If you have a small child they can offer to help around the house. An older child may want to help rake the elderly couple’s leaves. This will show them how to do something for others and how they feel when they do something for others.
• Thank yourself– So many times we forget to thank ourselves. We are so critical of ourselves but we never thank or applaud ourselves for a job well done.
• Body Thankfulness– No one ever just thinks about their body. Have your child think of something they love about themselves, whether it is inside their body or a body part. Remind them that the body is a miracle and a gift from God.

Gratitude Craft Roundup

We don’t always learn by reading, sometimes a child learns by creating. I found these and thought they’d be great for building those grateful hearts that are filled with gratitude.

– Thankful Toilet Paper Roll Turkey by The Life of a Home Mom
– DIY Gratitude Wreath by Happy Little Homemaker
– Thankful Turkey Hand Craft by Fun Handprint Art
– The Blessing Tree by Raising Arrows
– How to make gratitude stones by Fireflies and Mudpies
– Printable Thanksgiving Gratitude Letters – Encourage kids to be thankful by Artsy Momma

Turn Gratitude into a Habit

A few years ago I decided I wanted my kids to have gratitude throughout the day. Each morning before school, I’d have them tell me two things they were grateful for before heading out the door. I did this to start their day off right, to make them think of the positives in life and not the negatives.

At dinner time we’d go around the table and list 1 negative, 1 positive, and how they could be grateful for both. This also showed me if anything bad was going on at school that I could help with.

Gratitude Journals Help turn our Negativity into a Positive

“Gratitude is one of the sweet shortcuts to finding peace of mind and happiness inside. No matter what is going on outside of us, there’s always something we could be grateful for.” — Barry Neil Kaufman

It takes 30-90 days to turn something into a habit, but only 7-21 days to break a habit. Have your child list 1-3 things a day that they are grateful for. You can do this too on your Facebook page, a journal, a blog, or even with your family at night. After 30 days see how much happier they have already become. Remember a child can learn more through example.

Remind your child how many times it took them to learn to tie their shoes. They didn’t get it right away. (negative) This taught them that they had to practice more. (opportunity) After a while, they learned to do it. (positive). They should be grateful that they couldn’t do it right away because they had to practice until they learned how to do it right.

What Happens When a Child Learns Gratitude?

As you continue to teach gratitude to your child you will help them develop a deeper understanding of what it means to be grateful. They’ll be able to genuinely be thankful for whatever they are given and know why. No longer will they have a quick response to a gift or why a person makes them happy.

They’ll be able to express more about why they are thankful for a certain person instead of just saying “You are wonderful because you are my dad,” they’ll be able to express why they are thankful.

“You are wonderful because every day you go to work early in the morning, even when you don’t want to so you can provide for me. That even when you are tired from work you still want to play the dice game coming up the stairs with me or walk around town.“

Related: Improve your prayer life with this DIY Prayer Journal

Teach them to Pray for Gratitude

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. -Psalm 100:4

Having gratitude in troubling times isn’t always easy but it can happen. Teach your child to lay their troubles at God’s feet but also to praise him for all he has done and continues to do for them. God wants us to grow their faith in him and the love for others to increase (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

To help your child grow their faith now is the time to teach them that they can ask God to show them how to have more of a gracious and happy heart and to always be thankful for their circumstances. Show them that they can use scripture to make a more powerful prayer. A prayer journal can also help with this.

DIY Gratitude Journal for Kids

Don’t forget to download the FREE Gratitude Journal for Kids!

15 Gratitude Journal Prompts for Kids

Gratitude journals can be a lot of fun, but sometimes a child just wants to create their own. Feel free to borrow these prompts to help inspire your child’s first gratitude journal.

• What color are you thankful for?
• Is there a certain day of the week you are thankful for?
• Who are you grateful for?
• Is there a flavor you are thankful for?
• What season are you the most grateful for?
• What did you do today that you are thankful for?
• Are there skills you have that you are grateful for?
• What experiences are you thankful for?
• What smells are you grateful for?
• Which places have you visited that you are thankful for?
• Teachers can really make a difference in a life, which one are you thankful for?
• Have you ever been given advice you are grateful for?
• Technology can definitely be helpful, which one are you most thankful for?
• What subject are you most grateful for?
• What sight are you most thankful to see?

Gratitude journal prompt posts:
45 Gratitude Journal printable prompts by Art Journalist
30 days of gratitude for kids by Creative Child
Gratitude Journal Prompts for the Whole Year by Bounceback Parenting
Writing prompts for gratitude by Writeshop
100 Gratitude Prompts for Kids of All Ages by Inner Pieces Gallery

Having Gratitude When A World Seems to Have Stopped

Gratitude is something we aren’t born with, it is something we must be taught or learn through experience. It is harder for a child to learn it if the parents aren’t already doing it. It is even harder to keep it, if no one is practicing it.

Start it at home, one way to do this is to start those gratitude journals. Don’t forget if they see YOU doing one they’ll probably want to follow along by your example.

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