Children are taught early on to say please and thank you during everyday conversations. Sometimes this comes easily, and other times it is quite frustrating for parents when their child does not respond in this manner. This is a first step in teaching thankfulness, but studies have shown, adding a purposeful gratitude and thankfulness mindset to their everyday thinking greatly benefits all children.
Why teach thankfulness? We know in today’s society, there are many stressors and challenges that confront our children on a daily basis. This can be overwhelming and can contribute to depression and anxiety. Purposeful teaching of gratitude and thankfulness benefits our children’s emotional health and helps instill a positive, optimistic attitude.
Teaching thankfulness allows children to see the good things happening in their lives, and helps them keep negative things in perspective. This may decrease their stress and bolster their emotional health. Finally, when they turn their thinking toward others, it helps them keep their own challenges in perspective and hopefully lessens depressing thoughts.
There are many ways to teach thankfulness to children of all ages. Keeping a daily gratitude journal is a great way to document their thoughts, and these entries can be shared around the dinner table or become a bedtime ritual. If a child can go to bed being thankful for something in their life, they may sleep better. Making lists to fill up a grateful jar is another way to see the positives in our lives multiply.
Here at Christ Church Day School, we continually emphasize thankfulness in our Chapel services as well as our service projects. Daily gatherings in the classroom highlight what we are thankful for, and our prayers restate this feeling of gratitude for what we have been given. This past month, CCDS had an all school assembly dedicated to thankfulness, and we have a board prominently displayed on campus where students add what they are thankful for every day.
For more information and admission information for CCDS, please contact us at 619.435.6393 or [email protected].
