Having a heart of thankfulness is a wonderful quality to have. And we should be teaching our children to be thankful from an early age.
But how can you start that? How can you teach your little ones to be thankful to others and to God?
Well there are a few things that I have been doing from day one with our kids that have helped them be thankful for so much.
I am only three years into motherhood so I sometimes feel like I don’t have too much wisdom to share. But the years that I have learned and applied different things have taught me so much and I want to share that with other young moms.
Before I give by tips, let’s look at what the Bible tells us about being thankful.
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thess. 5:18)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Phil. 4:6)
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col. 3:17)
We are supposed to be thankful through all circumstances. And in every moment we need to have a thankful heart towards our Lord.
So how can we teach that to our children?
Start saying “thank you” from the beginning. If they hear that you are being thankful whether to them or to others they will copy. And also teach them to say “thank you” when you give them or do something for them. Even if for many months you will be the only one saying it. Sign language is also a great way to help them communicate before they start to speak.
Teach them to be thankful to God. You can do this through prayer and just with your words. As you fold laundry or wash dishes speak out loud how you are so thankful for the blessings of your dishes or clothes. Speak that you are thankful to God for allowing you to have food to eat or good times so you have clothes to wash. They are listening!
Help them learn verse about thankfulness. They are never too young to learn the words of the Lord. Teach them some of the verses I listed above or some of the other parts of Scripture that speak on thankfulness.
Show them how to be thankful in all circumstances. No matter how they are feeling or what life may look like. They need to be thankful to others and to the Lord. And we can model that in our own lives.
Do activities with them. There are some fun things you can do with your littles ones that teach thankfulness like writing what you’re thankful for on paper leaves, spinning around and then saying something you are thankful for, etc. You can make it fun!
Those are just a few ways to help you teach thankfulness to your children.
But again, it start with you and how you act in your own life. Those little eyes are watching and they are learning from what you do.
