Thanksgiving is Thursday and I am so thankful for so much this year. Mostly, I am thankful for the people in my life. Everything else is icing on the cake. Like many parents, I have spent a lot of time and money trying to make sure that my children have everything I didn't. That was important to me because I know what it is like to go without. I grew up poor and we didn't have much. Everything we did have, we were thankful for because we knew what going without felt like. I overcorrected and I spoiled my children.
They are not bratty but they are not as thankful as they should be; not as thankful as I would have been. To truly appreciate the things you have, you need to experience going without. I am trying to teach my daughters to be thankful for what they have and to know that every person, thing and day is a gift.
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Here are a few things you can do to help your children be more thankful.
Giving thanks: What are you thankful for? My dad has asked us this question every Thanksgiving since we were children. There is something profound about saying out loud what you are thankful for because it makes you realize that you are blessed.
Manners count: My daughters have always say, "Please", "Thank You" and "Excuse me." I've taught my children to respect their elders and people in general because everyone counts. No one is better than anyone else, we are all human and we all deserve human kindness and courtesy. Nothing peeves me more than a child who receives a gift and because they have so many, simply tosses it aside without a thank you to the person who put thought and love into finding it for them.
Listen to one another: 'What was the best thing that happened to you today?" and "What was the worst thing that happened today?" This is so simple but it really gets a conversation started and teaches our children the importance of hearing and caring about what others say. It gets them invested in someone other than themselves.
Charity: I want my girls to want to give to charity. I want them to be appreciative of what they have and compassionate towards those who are less fortunate. We donate food and clothes to those in need and when they are older, I will take them to a homeless shelter to serve food.
I love being able to give my children a better life than I had, but I want them to know that the good things in life don't have a price tag, they are priceless like a long conversation with a good friend, a lingering hug from a visiting Grandma or a hairpin passed down from a Great Aunt. I want them to cherish and value the moments of life, not the things but I want them to be thankful for all that they have.
Image via R.Nial.Bradshaw/Flickr
