As parents, we all know the importance of teaching our children to say thank you, but teaching them how to be truly grateful goes a lot deeper. In fact, gratitude encourages a positive mindset and helps children feel happy and confident.

Here are some great tips from an independent school in Oxfordshire on how to explore gratitude with your child…

Model gratitude

Children learn from their parents, so it is important that your role model a ‘gratitude attitude’ for your child to follow. Try to encourage gratefulness in your daily life for your child to lead a positive and happy life.

Focus on the positives

In the busy life of parenting, it is hard not to focus on the negatives and get frustrated in front of our children. However, the more you complain, the more likely your children will have the same attitude. Instead, try talking about the good parts of your day and focusing on the positives.

Show appreciation

Teach your children to show their appreciation for others with random acts of kindness. For example, take a gift into school to thank a teacher or make a card to let a grandparent know how much they are missed. These small gestures will show children the importance of being thoughtful and kind.

Keep a gratitude journal.

Practise daily gratitude with your child by helping them to look for all the positives in their life. Gratitude is such an effective technique for improving mental health and maintaining an optimistic attitude. A simple way for your child to practise gratitude is by keeping a gratitude journal. You could encourage them to write in it each evening. Ask your child to write down things they feel grateful for or a person that made them happy.

Encourage Sharing

It is important to let your child know that despite practising gratitude, it is OK to have different feelings should something upset them. Allow them to fully explore why they feel the way they do and how to process negative emotions and situations. you want to avoid toxic positivity, so encouraging sharing feelings can help your child to process their emotions and be in a better place to practice gratitude in a more healthy way.