In this chaotic and entitled world, it is imperative to strive to raise thankful girls. An attitude of gratitude will get them farther than they ever expect in life. I know we teach them to say thank you most often than not, but do we take time to teach them the reason for saying those thank you’s or are they saying it only because we told them to say so? We need to get them to understand why they need to be thankful for everything and that’s the only way it can come naturally over time.
Imagine sacrificing a lot for someone so much you deprive yourself to make the person happy and after taking all the goodness there was no word of thank you, not even a call or a text saying 2 simple words, THANK YOU! It’s an experience that can hurt us to our core so much so that we may not feel like helping anyone out ever again.
A thankful person always gets more.
Which means a door of overflowing goodness can be closed due to our attitude of ingratitude. We as parents see quite a handful of instances like these and that is the reason we need to teach our kids to not only be grateful but grateful indeed. I’m teaching my daughters these lessons on how to be extremely thankful.
Lesson 1
A thankful person gets more and more.
Daughter, be thankful to God first for everything, even your life. Why? He created you and so without him, you are nothing. Therefore let him be the first person you talk to in prayer every morning. Appreciate him for waking you up to see another beautiful morning and thank him for a perfect day ahead, then watch him work his wonders for you again and again.
Furthermore, we teach our kids at home, they teach them in Sunday school at church and in school to say thank you for acts of kindness, It is not just a mere word but a two letter word filled with deep meanings and which carries a lot of power within it to make someone to carry out more acts of kindness. So in other to keep the chain of kindness going, you must continue to pay it forward by not only saying thank you for good gestures but showing how thankful you are through your attitude and expressions, and by being kind and good to other people. However, do not be discouraged if you are not appreciated for being kind to others because not everybody has the privilege to hear such wise words. Keep being good and expect nothing back in return. Remember;
It is better to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Meaning, an open palm is able to receive things but a closed fist will never be able to get anything. (Practise this by opening and closing hands).
Gratitude opens the door to abundance.
Lesson 2
Don’t be moved by what others have.
Daughter, you will always get to meet people who have more things (flashy and very inviting) than you have but while it is very acceptable to appreciate goods things and complement the owners, it is not acceptable to crave and want to have them by all means. Remember, some people do not have as many things as you have now, so be grateful to God for what he has blessed your parent to give to you now and then you can also ask from him what you truly NEED not WANT and he will give them to your parents to give to you. Deal?
So many temptations out there………….rolls eyes. Slowly but surely. Be content and thankful for all you have already.
- Visit shelters and orphanages to help foster understanding.
Happiness is not about getting what you want all the time. It’s about loving what you have and being thankful for it. Author unknown
Lesson 3
Thankful people are happy people.
Happy people are not necessarily thankful but thankful people are always happy. Unbelievable right? try it. Be genuinely thankful for everything and feel the unexplainable joy that will well up within you. When you are genuinely thankful, it leads to deep thinking which in turn leads to a face that lights up and a bright attitude that makes your thankfulness believable and acceptable.
Do you want to be happy? Be thankful.
Lesson 4
Thankful people are attractive.
Daughter, since thankful people are mostly kind, good and polite people, they tend to attract people to themselves because people naturally want to associate with good people. They also believe that for you to be so genuinely thankful you will also be selfless because their feelings will be put to consideration most times. So, instead of seeking to get noticed by force or by deception which is not wise, Just be genuinely grateful and thankful to all.
Go the extra mile by being thoughtful. I know you are good at saying thank you when you get a gift or you were appreciated but how about saying thank you so much to your bus driver every day you alight from the school bus or sneaking a written note on your teacher’s table saying; Thank you for all you do miss M, without being reminded every day by me.
Deep thinking will help you to get better at these. You can do it pretty.
Lesson 5
Thankful people do not forget good deeds.
Daughter, ungrateful people complains about one thing you have not yet done for them, instead of being thankful for the million things you already did for them. Which means humans are quick to forget your good deeds but hold on to one mistake you make or one thing you haven’t done for them. Therefore be thankful by learning to remember the good things people did for you.
I hope you find these lessons worthwhile as much as we do over here. Raising our daughters to be grateful is an ongoing process which should be taken one day at a time. Lay the bricks one at a time and watch them blossom. Click below for a free download of Be Thankful guideline.
Please share your thoughts with us in the comment section. Thank you.
These are very nice ways to incorporate thankfulness. Lovely post.
Thanks Trema.
What a lovely post! Great tips. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Anna. Glad you like it.
Great lessons!
Thank you
These are great tips! I think it also applies a lot to boys too, so very helpful to me! Thank you. 🙂
Sure it does. Thanks for reading.
Truth! I think I need to work on teaching MYSELF this better so I can better pass it on to my children!
Awesome Kayleigh. We are also work in progress.
Always love your post. Awesome as always!
Thank you so much Tannah
I I love this. “Gratitude opens the door to abundance”. Thanks for the reminder to be grateful amidst the mess that is today!
Thank you more for reading and relating.
Very good tips, I think that it’s important for kids to see how others who are less fortunate than them live, it does foster a sense of thankfulness and gratitude. My kids have been on overseas mission trips and those have really shaped their outlook in a positive way.
Yes Melissa, i so agree with you.
I love these lessons! It’s so true that thankful people are attractive, and I think we can all be reminded sometimes about not being moved by what others have. It’s so great to start young.
I love the lessons! I think we can all learn a little something here, but it’s great to start young.
Yes Melissa, the lesson is for everyone definitely. Thanks
great lessons for all. Thanks for your perspective!
Thank you too, Emily.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I’m not a mom yet but I would hope any future child of mine would grow up with a strong sense of gratitude, no matter their gender identity. 🙂
They sure will, with your guidance and God’s grace.
Wonderful post! THANK YOU!
Thanks Vicki
This is so precious! I love each of the lesson titles and that you have a specific scripture or quote attached.
Thanks Molly.
LOVE THIS! Great lessons. Gratitude is a way of life.
Thanks Rebecca.
Wonderful post and ideas on how to be more thankful. 🙂
Thanks Heidi.
Great info! I have twin girls and there are some great tips here.
Yay! Thanks Jamie.
Being grateful does lead to happiness. It’s not always as easy lesson to teach kids, though. These tips are really helpful for helping kids to understand gratitude.
Thanks alot Stacey.
Lesson 2 is my favorite. People are really brought down by comparison and it absolutely results in a lack of contentment with what they have. Thanks for sharing!
I really love the way you put it. Thanks
Such an important lesson and really so easy to do, yet somehow thankfulness tends to escape us if we are not careful. This post has great timing for the upcoming holidays, but I’ll also be pinning it as a year round reminder for all of us!
Thanks Kiersten. I appreciate you.
Good read. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Amber.
Yes, gratitude is essential. For both boys and girls. I wish more people taught boys to be sweet, kind, and grateful the way we focus on it with girls.
I agree with you Shanna. I know a blog that focuses on boys too.