Tips to Teach Kids Gratitude + [free] Gratitude Journal for Kids

Should You Really Teach Gratitude to Kids?

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To help kids embrace gratitude, this article offers practical tips for teaching them to recognize and appreciate the good in their lives. It includes activities, conversations, and a free gratitude journal designed to make practicing thankfulness easy and engaging for young learners.

The holidays are upon us. And with Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, people everywhere have something on their minds – gratitude.

But it’s not enough to just be thankful around Thanksgiving and Christmas – we need to teach our kids to be thankful for the good things in their lives all year long.

When you think of gratitude, typically the first thought that comes to mind is being grateful for the good things in your life.

We all have rough parts of our lives, children included. But we also all have good (and even great!) things in our lives. This is why when it comes to Thanksgiving and kids, it’s so important to keep these lessons at the front of our minds.

It is a common claim that ‘counting your blessings’ is an easy way to feel happier about a bad situation.

Sounds simple, right? Just think of something you’re thankful for and be instantly happier? If only it actually was that simple.

When things are hectic or stressful, finding the silver lining can be challenging.

And when it comes to teaching gratitude for kids, sometimes that task is definitely not simple.

But the fact of the matter is grateful people are happier than ungrateful people. And happier people are more consistently grateful than grumpy people.

Benefits of Teaching Kids Gratitude

There are many benefits of gratitude. And a lot of these benefits have been scientifically proven.

Gratitude can have a positive effect on both your physical and mental health.

Research has shown it to improve relaxation, sleep quality and energy levels. (And who doesn’t want their kids to sleep better?)

Kids who are good at being grateful are better able to deal with crisis situations.

Grateful kids are more resilient because they are better able to look on the bright side. This can contribute to better relationships, too (not to mention doing better in their studies).

Appreciating the positives in life can simply make you feel happier!

Easy Ways To Teach Kids to be Grateful

Teaching kids to recognize their blessings may not come easily at first. But with a little bit of effort, you can make it a habit and a regular part of your routine.

Start & End Your Day By Counting Your Blessings

One really easy way to get started on a gratitude practice is to make a habit of counting your blessings both morning and night.

When we make it a habit to remember the good things in our life, we tend to avoid getting bogged down by the stressors and irritants. Starting our days with gratitude is almost as important as starting our days with prayer and scripture study.

Remembering all that we have to be grateful for is a surefire way to start the day off on the right foot.

Enforce the Gratitude Habit with a Small Journal

One of the most convenient and impactful methods is through keeping a gratitude journal.

In your gratitude journal, you’ll write down a couple of things every day that you are grateful for. Younger kids can start with 1 item, and older kids can do as much as 3 (or more).

When you’re writing down things you’re grateful for every day, you get better at recognizing the good things in your life.

Benefits of a Gratitude Journal

There are many benefits to keeping a gratitude journal.

Keeping a gratitude journal helps put the emphasis on the positive things in your child’s life instead of the negative. This in and of itself is good for emotional wellbeing.

But more than that – the act of writing is very therapeutic! Writing helps give a different perspective on things you might not have been able to see otherwise. In fact, journaling is great for both moms and kids! (Here are some journaling ideas for Mom if you need something above and beyond a gratitude journal for kids.)

Free Printable Gratitude Journal For Kids

I took the time to put together a great gratitude journal for kids for your convenience.

This journal includes a small instructional page, a whole bunch of ideas to get your child started, and enough pages to write for an entire month. (plus the nice title page with room for your child’s name)

I also included space for your child to draw what he is grateful for, if desired.

NEWLY ADDED: I also recently added 18 new Gratitude Coloring Pages to the end of this journal for your kids to color and enjoy!

Print this journal off again and again so you can use it monthly.

Tips for Using Your Gratitude Journal

The most important thing when it comes to a gratitude journal is consistency. A gratitude journal will only be effective if you use it regularly.

Keep this journal where you and your child will see it often. This will help you remember to write in it every day. Turn it into a regular part of your routine.

Feel free to print off multiple copies of this Gratitude Journal For Kids to share with all your children. Siblings can benefit from bouncing ideas off of each other, as well as by watching each other be consistent.

What If A Journal Won’t Work?

If you don’t want to use a gratitude journal, that’s okay too! Some people don’t do well with a formal journal, for whatever reason (be it age or personality or something else). There are plenty of other ways to incorporate gratitude into your daily routine without using a journal.

Thankful Door

When my kids were younger and not quite ready to keep up on their own gratitude journals, we had what I call a Thankful Door.

Every morning, I would get out my sticky pads. I would have each kid name something they were thankful for and I’d write it on a sticky note.

The kids would then stick these thankful notes to the door.

They would get so excited about this door! Every day they watched the list of things they were thankful for get bigger and bigger. It was a great way to incorporate an attitude of gratitude with a house full of littles.

As my kids grew, I developed our system into something a little more user-friendly. Basically, I found the sticky-notes tended to lose their stickiness as the days went on.

So I made a couple of pages of cute, printable leaves to use instead.

We print out the pages, cut out the leaves, and write down what we are thankful for on a leaf. Then we use scotch-tape to stick these cute leaves to the door.

This system works really really well for reminding kids how much we have to be thankful for all year long.

Digital Gratitude Journal Using Google Docs

If a pen and paper isn’t your style, there’s a solution for you too!

The digital age is growing and more and more families are teaching their kids exclusively with digital devices as opposed to paper and pencils. And there is nothing wrong with that!

If digital is more your style, create a Google Doc for each of your kids and have them keep track of what they are grateful for there instead.

For example – you could have your kids type up 5 new things every day that they are grateful for.

The great thing about Google Docs is you can make your document available across many devices. This means even when you’re not at home your kids can keep up with their daily gratitude journal.

Verbalizing Gratitude

But it’s not enough to just write down what you are grateful for. Prayer and meditation are great ways to learn and reinforce gratitude.

Additionally, making an effort to thank somebody every day, even for the smallest things, can do wonders in cultivating an attitude of gratitude.

Help your child get good at recognizing things he is grateful for, and encourage him to make his gratitude known. This will make a world of difference in his life.

And if all of these free gratitude activities for kids weren’t enough to get your mind going, you could also try a fun gratitude challenge with your kids!

How to Create a New Habit of Gratitude

While having a gratitude habit is important, it is not always easy to develop.

Let’s be honest – developing any good habit is hard! But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Here are a few tips for creating a new habit of gratitude.

Start Small

Easing into any habit is usually the best approach. By making it easier on yourself (and your child!) you’ll be more inclined to continue moving forward.

Make sure your child realizes that he doesn’t have to only be grateful for big, fancy blessings. The little things are worth being thankful for too!

Sometimes, being grateful for the little things makes the biggest impact on our lives.

Create Visual Reminders

When working to develop a new habit, creating visual reminders can make a big difference in consistency.

Get something that will remind you and your child to remember to be thankful, such as a gratitude journal or a sticky note.

Put this reminder somewhere you will see it every day. (Or get multiple reminders and set them all over the house!)

Every time your child sees his visual reminder, he will think about being grateful all on his own.

Turn It Around

A big thing for a lot of people is complaining and speaking negatively.

What do complaints and negative thoughts get us? Negative attitudes and bad moods!

When you catch yourself (or your child) speaking negatively, turn that around and see if you can say something positive instead!

For example – I am prone to migraines. When I wake up with a migraine, it can really throw off my day. But one thing I do to help myself have a better day is think of something good about having a migraine, such as the fact that frequent migraines are basically my only real health complaint and I feel great otherwise almost all the time.

I do the same thing with my kids and I can really see a difference in their whole attitudes when we are consistent with this.

When a child wakes up in a bad mood or is grumpy because I asked them to do a chore, I have them think of something they are grateful for, or something good about their situation.

Something as simple as only being asked to do a few chores instead of being in charge of the whole house. Or having a house in which to do their chores (as opposed to being homeless). You get the idea.

This simple act on my part helps the kids notice their blessings and turns their whole moods around (at least most of the time!)

Try to find the silver lining. It really works!

Final Thoughts On Raising Grateful Kids

Did you want to grab your downloaded copy of the Gratitude Journal For Kids? Now’s your chance!

But however you choose to teach your child gratitude, remember to model gratitude in your own life.

Kids who have grateful parents have an easier time remembering to be grateful themselves. And this is probably the easiest and most effective way to teach your child to be grateful in all things.

Posts Related to Gratitude:

Gratitude Challenge for Kids
Thanksgiving and Kids – Playing and Learning All Month Long
How To Be Patient (And Teach Kids Patience Too)
Teach Kids About Respect

How To Really Teach Gratitude For Kids