Teaching kids to be thankful can be a challenge.  I have 3, so I’m speaking from experience.  I have noticed that the generation that my children fall into have a sense of entitlement. 

I have made it my mission to try my best to teach them that I am not obligated to give anything to them aside from the necessary things that parents should give their children.

Anything extra that they get, we give to them out of love not because they are entitled to it.

I can only speak for my family, but I figured out why my children “had” …and I stress the word “had” that mentality.  When I was growing up, my parents had just immigrated here, and they didn’t have much and they didn’t really know all the ins and outs of the country. 

My sisters and I had to figure out a lot on our own.  As a result, I went a little overboard with my kids so that they didn’t have to figure it all out.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with helping your children, but I realized that I also needed to give them the opportunity to figure a few things out on their own.

What Is Gratitude And Why Is It Important

According to the dictionary, gratitude is the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Gratitude is thankfulness, showing appreciation when someone does something for you and not taking them for granted.  It's saying thank you and letting the person know that you appreciate what they have done for you.

That’s why at a very early age we teach our babies to say thank you because it's polite, but most importantly it's showing appreciation for the other person.

Gratitude In The Bible

Does the Bible actually talk about gratitude? 

It sure does, it talks a lot about being thankful, reading these Bible verses to our kids daily can help them to grow up with an attitude of gratitude.  The Bible talks about teaching our children the Word of God so that they don’t forget it. 

Use these verses as memory verses or do a little Bible study with them.  I know that we sometimes think they are too young, but they know a lot more than we think.  It’s also good to have Bible devotions with your children and these verses are a great topic.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

18 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

Psalm 107:1

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

Ephesians 5:20

20 And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 106:1

Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

3 Ways To Teach Children Gratitude

1. Be an example

The best way that we can teach a child anything is to be an example of what we are teaching them.  Daily we can show them how we are thankful and how we show gratitude.  We can do this by not complaining about situations but by finding something in that same situation to be thankful for. 

Another great way is to show gratitude to our kids, and it doesn’t have to be for any specific reason.  Just for simply being our child. 

They tend to mimic what we do and they have a great memory, and when we tell them to do something that we aren’t doing, they always remember to bring it up to us.

How about journaling?  That’s a great example to show your kids, a gratitude journal is a great way to help you to be deliberate about gratitude.

2. Give to others

Have your child give to the less fortunate.  When my children were younger I would have them go through their toys and give away some of their gently used toys and I would let them pick the toys to give away.

At first, they weren’t very happy about it, but it soon became an exciting exercise for them to do.  As well, at Christmas time, we go to the mall and pick a gift and donate it each year.  This gives me an opportunity to have a great conversation with them to show them how fortunate they are.

3. Have them volunteer

This is a great one, I have my kids volunteer at church on almost a weekly basis.  It gives them a chance to give back without expecting something in return. 

It’s funny I was so caught up with having them volunteer until I realized that I wasn’t being an example for them as I wasn’t volunteering myself.  So, I decided to be an example and volunteer as well.  It is truly an amazing feeling to help and not expect anything in return.

How do you teach your children gratitude?  I’d love to know in the comments below.