Should Children Practice Gratitude?

Last year, I shared with you my journey to finding gratitude. CLICK HERE if you want to read about my journey in full detail, but I’ll share a little recap in case you are new to our community.

I was burned out as a mom. I just wasn’t myself—I was unhappy, negative, short-fused, and just plain grouchy. My husband and I heard about practicing gratitude through mediation on a podcast. I began to try mediation—after all, it couldn’t hurt. After a while I saw a shift in my mood, but it was hard for me to stay focused during meditation. I didn’t want to lose momentum on my mood change so I decided to journal instead of meditate for my gratitude time. Journaling has helped keep me centered during my daily gratitude time.

What habits do you have in place to help keep you from feeling burned out? Email me to share.

Gratitude is a very powerful emotion. It can transform you mentally, emotionally, and even physically. My kids began to see a transformation in me. My children noticed a change in my mood, my happiness, my listening, and my patience and understanding. I wanted to help my children develop a strong, positive and grateful mind at a young age so that when they are faced with challenges in their life they will be able to bounce back and find the good in themselves and the situation so we began to practice gratitude at the dinner table each night. It is a simple thing where we all say one thing we are grateful for that day, but it makes us all pause to think about the good in the day even if the day wasn’t so good.

My oldest has seen my The Full Life Gratitude Journal for Moms and asked for his own journal, so I went searching for a good gratitude journal that would be suitable for kids ages 6 and older. I wanted something that would be simple for him to follow, enjoyable to do each day, and is focused on helping him discover the best parts of his life.  I couldn’t find one I wanted, so my husband and an author with our Creative Ideas Publishing team have come up with just that—a gratitude journal for boys and a gratitude journal for girls.

These gratitude journals help children create an amazing habit at a young age that they can carry throughout their lives. Each journal helps children reflect on their feelings and form a thankful heart.

My older son has truly enjoyed his journaling time with Daily Gratitude Journal for Kids. He wakes up each morning and insists that he journal first thing in the morning (I don’t argue with him). Even though we have told him his journal can be private, he really enjoys sharing his daily journal with us. My younger son, 4 years old, asked for a journal since his older brother has one—you know how it is. Even though he doesn’t write full words yet, he has enjoyed drawing pictures and sharing his pictures and feelings with us as well. Their openness has led to many heart-level conversations and connections since we can talk about their feelings and thoughts together. I really feel like this will help foster a deeper and more approachable connection between all of us, especially for the teen years.

For those of you with teens, there is The Ultimate Middle School Gratitude Journal that allows preteens and teens to build their self-esteem through focusing on the positives of their life rather than the negatives that can bombard them. This journal has many inspirational quotes from well-known celebrities. It also has writing prompts to allow teens to think BIG.

I plan to get our daughter the 5 Minute Girls Gratitude Journal when she is ready. This journal for girls has kindness challenges, memory-making challenges, inspirational quotes, and reflective journaling prompts to help girls cultivate a thankful spirit. I think this will be a great way to help build my daughter's self-esteem and confidence at a young age, so that she can go into the teen years with a strong foundation.