Instilling Gratefulness In Your Child

In recent years I have noticed that the young people that I interact with tend to have a sense of entitlement.

In recent years I have noticed that the young people that I interact with tend to have a sense of entitlement. This includes my own children; I find myself reminding them to say thank you when they receive something. I also find myself having conversations with my oldest child about being grateful and appreciative of the things that they own instead of always comparing themself to their friends and what they have.

I think that as Parents we do our best to ensure that our children do not go without the things that they need or want. And sometimes that creates a child who believes that they will always get what they want and when they don’t receive what they want, ungrateful attitudes will be revealed.

It is time for a reset, and what better time of year than a time that is focused on being thankful? If you have children who demonstrate a sense of entitlement from time to time, these activities may be helpful to increase their level of gratefulness.

Have your children sit down and create a list of things that they are grateful for.

Have your children sit down and create a list of things that they are grateful for. I know that this sounds simple however the act of creating the list and seeing all that they have usually helps them see in a real way all of the things that they have. This is much better than them focusing on the things that they don’t have or want which is what is usually on their minds.

Have your child focus on those who are less fortunate than them.

Having your child focus on those who are less fortunate than them can really help to put things into perspective. This can be done in a variety of ways, you can volunteer as a family at a homeless shelter, if your child is old enough you can sign them up to do this volunteer work on their own. If your child is younger, you can have them read about children who are in less fortunate situations and what their needs are. If at your child’s school they have a way to give to less fortunate families, have your child volunteer or donate with money that they have worked to earn. The most important part is that they know what the needs are of the people that they are helping and know the impact that they are making.

Help your child determine the difference between a want and a need.

This also may sound like a simple task however I have found myself saying to my child, “That is a want and not a need.” These two terms tend to be used interchangeably with children. “I need that toy.” “I need that phone.” It is helpful to have your child determine the definition of a need and a want. Once they see that needs are things such as water and food, it will be clear that wants are not on the same level as needs. This will help them to understand that their wants do carry as much weight as their needs and they should not be categorized in the same way.

Have your child pay for the items that they want by earning their own money.

This is another simple task that has great value. When your child is old enough to do chores around the house and earn money, set up a system of chores and payment with them. It will be important for them to understand that even if they weren’t getting “paid” that these chores would still need to be done and that they are their responsibility. The payment is more of a reward versus payment for a job being done. This way when they want something they can save up their money and with your permission purchase the items that they want. This not only helps them to value the item but it also helps them to see the work that goes into being able to purchase something that they want.

These tasks may seem simple, however they are very valuable and go a long way in helping a child to be grateful for all that they have. They will quickly see that even if they don’t have everything that their friends have, that they should still be grateful for what they have.