A sense of gratitude is a wonderful trait to instill in your children. As a single parent, you may struggle with getting your kids to feel grateful when your financial and living circumstances may not match up to what other families seem to have. A few tips to help your children be grateful are given in this article.
Lead by Example
Be sure to model gratitude in front of your children. You probably already remember to thank the adults in your life, but do you thank your kids or their friends every time they do something helpful? Kids learn best by watching what you do.
Role Playing
For smaller children, you can model the behavior through role playing with your child or using puppets or stuffed animals.
Show Them How to Be of Service to Others
Let your kids see you holding doors open for the elderly or someone else who would have difficulty handling the door. When your children are old enough, prompt them to do the same. Look for other small and large ways to be helpful to others and encourage your kids do this, too.
Have Your Kids Make a Gratitude List
A great exercise is to have your kids make a list of everything that they are grateful for. You may be surprised at the depth of maturity that they display. Get them in the habit of practicing a daily ‘attitude of gratitude.’
Use Tough Circumstances to Teach
Maybe a storm just came through and knocked out your power. How often are we grateful for electricity until we don’t have it? Maybe your apartment is less than stellar, but you have a roof over your head and a warm place to sleep. Help your kids see that they need to be grateful for the little things and not just when they get exactly what they want.
For single parents, teaching your children to be grateful is very important. Even though your kids may not have everything that some of their friends have, teaching them to be thankful for what they do have will help them to mature and become adults that other people like to be around.
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