Gratitude for kids
Gratitude is a powerful practice that has been scientifically proven to enhance wellbeing and generate positive emotions.
Starting your day with a simple gratitude practice, such as, being grateful for the feeling of your breath in and out of your body, grateful for a loved one, or grateful for the opportunity to share your skills and talents that day, sets you up to have a more optimistic and resilient mindset that day.
Engaging children in a gratitude practice that is fun and meaningful offers children a lifelong appreciation of the world around them and empowers them to generate a positive emotional state.
Younger children may need more help identifying what they are grateful for, try these prompts:
Something that makes me laugh
Someone that I have to hug
Something I think is fun to do
Something that makes me feel happy
Someone I love
Something I enjoy doing
The Science of Gratitude
Robert A. Emmons, one of the key proponents in the field of gratitude research, says that gratitude is “an affirmation of goodness”. Gratitude is a habit that we can develop and research into the neurophysiology of gratitude shows that this practice attunes our brains to positivity.
A regular gratitude practice has been shown to have:
Physical benefits: such as, decreasing inflammation, improving sleep, lowering blood pressure and can motivate us to take more exercise and eat healthier as we appreciate our bodies more.
Mental benefits: boosting self-confidence, improving patience and resilience, and supporting us to be more forgiving and optimistic.
Emotional benefits: improving mood, helping us to deal with difficult emotions and contributing to feeling happier and more fulfilled.
Social benefits: fostering a healthy social circle, improving relationships with friends and strengthening romantic relationships.
Gratitude Activities
Establishing a gratitude practice and sticking to it will help you reap the rewards of an appreciative attitude to life. Finding an activity that works for you and life is crucial if you want to stick at it. Try;
Gratitude Journalling
Sharing gratitude with family at the end of the day
Create a gratitude jar - write one thing you are grateful each day and place in a jar, at the end of the year take a look at everything you were grateful for!
Or you can go on a gratitude walk, download our printable sheet and record what you noticed on your walk. This mindfulness activity helps children to be more present by connecting to their senses.
Gratitude helps us to connect to what we already have, what is already going well in our lives, rather than focus on what is missing, or lacking.