I’ve been trying to teach my kids to be more grateful, but it’s not always easy. Anyone have some good tips or tricks that have worked for their families? Looking for simple ideas we can incorporate into our daily routine without making a big fuss about it. Thanks!
I’ve been wondering about this too! My 5-year-old is just starting to grasp the concept of gratitude.
We started a simple thing at bedtime where we each say one good thing about our day. It’s not always easy, some nights my kid just wants to sleep. But other times, it leads to sweet moments.
I’m curious how others handle this with young kids. Do you find it better to explain the concept of gratitude directly? Or just model it and hope they pick it up?
Also, has anyone tried using rewards or games to encourage gratitude? I worry that might defeat the purpose, but I’m not sure what works best at this age.
One thing that’s worked well for us is turning gratitude into a fun family game. We have a jar where we drop in notes about good things that happened during the week. On Fridays, we read them out loud together.
My kid loves it because it feels like a treasure hunt, finding good moments to add. It’s become a cool way for us to reflect on the positive stuff without it feeling forced.
We also started a ‘kindness counter’ where we track random acts of kindness we see or do. It’s turned into a friendly competition to see who can spot or do the most each week.
I hear you on wanting to teach gratitude without making a big deal of it. In our house, we started small by having everyone share one good thing at dinner. It felt awkward at first, but it became a nice habit. The kids started noticing positives throughout their day to share later.
Another thing that worked was having the kids write quick thank-you notes for gifts or nice things others did. We kept it simple, just a sentence or two. It got them thinking about the effort behind kind gestures.
We also started a family tradition of donating toys before birthdays and holidays. It helped the kids appreciate what they had and think of others. These little practices added up over time, and I noticed the kids becoming more aware and thankful. Every family is different, though, so you might need to try a few things to see what clicks with your kids. 
We started saying thanks for little things at dinner. Kids noticed more good stuff during the day to share.
Volunteering at a food bank once a month opened their eyes too. Seeing others with less made them appreciate what they have more.
In our family, we’ve found that small daily practices can make a big difference. Our kids have a little gratitude journal where they write or draw one thing they’re thankful for before bed. It’s become a nice part of their bedtime routine.
We also started pointing out little acts of kindness throughout the day. Like when someone holds the door open or shares a toy. This helps the kids notice the good things around them.
Recently, we’ve been doing ‘appreciation circles’ where we take turns saying something we appreciate about each family member. The kids really enjoy this and it’s helped them focus on the positive.
These simple habits have slowly changed how our kids see things. They’re noticing more of the good stuff in their lives now. It takes time, but keep at it and you’ll see changes too.