![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/grateful-heart-1-e1542145254916.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nBy Alex Chiu<\/p>\n
Your spouse passes a dish from the dinner table to your son. You bring a tissue to your daughter when she is sniffling while watching TV. Your mother brings your child a birthday gift. As parents, our almost kneejerk response when any of these things occur is to immediately prompt our child with \u201cWhat do you say?\u201d Sometimes we do this even before the child has had a chance to process that someone has done something kind for him or her. But what do we really accomplish with that prompting? Generally, children will give the required \u201cthank you\u201d response you are seeking, but is there a real sense of gratitude behind those words?<\/p>\n
To nurture a true grateful heart, we must make gratitude a daily practice with our children. It\u2019s important for them to understand that there is so much we can be grateful for\u2014big and small\u2014 and recognizing this at an early age helps children grow up with gratitude as a matter of course. Why is this important? Research indicates that having a sense of gratitude can help people reduce feelings of sadness, stress, and loneliness. In his article \u201c7 Surprising Health Benefits of Gratitude\u201d, author Jamie Ducharme outlines how gratitude can help people become more patient, reduce overeating, combat depression, improve relationships, improve sleep, and generally make you feel happier (Time Health<\/em>, November 2017). And Ann Morin has her own list of seven benefits (seven must be a lucky number!), adding that gratitude can lessen aggression, improve empathy and self-esteem, and promote better physical and psychological health (\u201c7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude That Will Motivate You to Give Thanks Year-Round\u201d, Forbes<\/em>, November 2014).<\/p>\n So how can parents help their children (and themselves) learn the practice of gratitude? Let\u2019s count some very simple ways to express gratitude at least four times throughout the day:<\/p>\n 1. First thing in the morning<\/strong>: Begin the day by sharing one thing you\u2019re grateful for that morning. Warm water to wash your hands, the sun shining, fuzzy pajamas, breakfast\u2014model a sentence of gratitude and invite your child to think of what he or she is grateful for that morning. It may take some time for this habit to take hold, but if you take the initiative in sharing what you are grateful for on a regular basis, your children will very likely follow suit. And then the entire family can reap the many more than seven benefits of a grateful heart!<\/p>\n For a list of fun gratitude activities for the whole family, including how to make a \u2018gratitude box\u2019, some gratitude prompts, gratitude games, and even gratitude apps you can download, check out: https:\/\/positivepsychologyprogram.com\/gratitude-exercises\/<\/p>\n More information and resources on gratitude, including those used as references in this article include: And some lovely children\u2019s books with a gratitude theme you might enjoy: By Alex Chiu Your spouse passes a dish from the dinner table to your son. You bring a tissue to your daughter when she is sniffling while watching TV. Your mother brings your child a birthday gift. As parents, our almost kneejerk response when any of these things occur is to immediately prompt our […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[28,69,87,1],"tags":[26,17,138,47,144,54,78,145,140,147,9,137,35,6],"coauthors":[13],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7icff-cb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":483,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/29\/what-not-to-wear\/","url_meta":{"origin":755,"position":0},"title":"What (Not) to Wear","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"August 29, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 By: Alex Chiu Many parents anticipate that perfect \u201cfirst day of school\u201d photo with their children wearing fresh, new outfits, slinging those bright new backpacks over their shoulders, and smiling as they exit the front door ready to start a new school year. Before you begin your back-to-school shopping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_0504.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_0504.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_0504.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/IMG_0504.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":269,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/11\/five-questions-to-ask-at-a-preschool-open-house\/","url_meta":{"origin":755,"position":1},"title":"Five Questions to Ask at a Preschool Open House (Repost from October 2016)","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"January 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As this is a common time of year for families to begin their preschool search for the next school year, we would like to once again share with you some pointers when attending a preschool Open House. An Open House provides parents with a firsthand impression that cannot be replicated\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3-children-with-globe.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3-children-with-globe.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3-children-with-globe.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3-children-with-globe.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/3-children-with-globe.jpg?fit=1200%2C844&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1235,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/29\/the-absorbent-mind-supporting-mcas-youngest-learners\/","url_meta":{"origin":755,"position":2},"title":"The Absorbent Mind: Supporting MCA\u2019s Youngest Learners","author":"Tori Inkley","date":"December 29, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bernadette Fasolas, Director of Hiring and Montessori Educationand Tori Inkley, Executive Director \u201cAbsorbent Mind\u201d is a term coined by Dr. Maria Montessori to describe the natural absorption of information by a child from birth through the age of 6 years. 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Since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/give-thanks-banner-300x180.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":806,"url":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/06\/celebrating-montessori-education-week-at-mca\/","url_meta":{"origin":755,"position":5},"title":"Celebrating Montessori Education Week at MCA!","author":"Alex Chiu","date":"March 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"By Alex Chiu \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A sampling of MCA student projects on display at local libraries for Montessori Education Week We at The Montessori Children\u2019s Academy celebrate Montessori education each and every day, but for one week out of the year, we join together with schools from around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Early Child Education"","block_context":{"text":"Early Child Education","link":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/category\/early-child-education\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=755"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":759,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/755\/revisions\/759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=755"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/themontessorichildrensacademy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2. On the way to school<\/strong>: Comment about one thing you see that makes you feel grateful. Recently, for me, it was having all green lights on the drive to school! But it could be anything\u2014a car that functions, the beauty of the changing leaves, a favorite song that comes on the radio. A simple recognition of \u201cI\u2019m so grateful that song came on\u2014it really brightened my mood!\u201d is a great way to share your gratitude with your child.
\n3. At home after school<\/strong>: Express your gratitude to your child when he or she is helpful, kind, or considerate to you or any other family member. But be specific and add on to the usual \u201cThank you\u201d. If your child remembers to put toys away before coming to the dinner table, you might extend your gratitude by saying \u201cThank you for remembering to clean up\u2014that really helps me and shows me that you\u2019re responsible and that you care about taking care of your toys and our house!\u201d Invite your child to think about who has done something since coming home from school that he or she would like to thank.
\n4. At bedtime<\/strong>: Have your child share one thing about the day that he or she is truly grateful for\u2014it could have been time spent with friends, learning a new skill or concept at school, the yummy dinner you made, snuggling with the dog, anything!<\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/time.com\/5026174\/health-benefits-of-gratitude\/
\nhttps:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/amymorin\/2014\/11\/23\/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-round\/#13d897b9183c
\nhttps:\/\/tinybuddha.com\/<\/p>\n
\nDid I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?<\/em> by Dr. Seuss
\nGiving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message<\/em> by Jake Swamp
\nSplatt Says Thank You<\/em> by Rob Scotton
\nSylvester and the Magic Pebble<\/em> by William Steig
\nThose Shoes<\/em> by Maribeth Boelts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"