How can we teach gratitude to our children and foster in them a joyful and thankful attitude? Read below for several gratitude exercises applicable to any age. I have also included free printable thank you cards for kids and for adults with some helpful writing prompts.

Every so often I catch our family in the throws of some stinky attitudes. Crankiness, bitterness, and discontentment will creep up on all of us and erupt in a sort of ugly storm of yucks. It isn’t just the kids. It happens to my husband and me just as often. I find myself wondering, how did we get here and how do we fix it? There is a fairly simple antidote – gratitude. How can you be discontent and bitter when you realize how richly blessed you are? Gratitude kicks those sinful heart dispositions to the curb. Gratitude directs our attention toward The Giver of all good things (James 1:17) and recalibrates our hearts to what is true.

The Bible is clear on this topic. We are simply commanded to be thankful in dozens of passages! And for good reason – we have a very good God! Gratitude is all over the Psalms and Paul starts his letters with prayers of gratitude. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 explain that gratitude is God’s will for us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” We get three in a row in Colossians 3:15-17,

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 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.”

Here are some things we can do to help fire up a thankful heart for ourselves and also teach our children to foster an attitude of gratitude. They can serve as wonderful “reset” buttons for our hearts.

Three Gratitude Exercises

Keep a Gratitude Journal

This is something that can be done at any age. When I have kept a journal like this it is more of a running list of things I am grateful for. There have been seasons in life where this has proven a helpful exercise for me to alter my perspective on a specific situation or even towards a difficult person! If there is someone in your life that is a challenge you might try to keep a small journal of reasons you can find to be thankful for that person.

With my kids, I have them draw two pictures each day of things they are thankful for. They have a notebook that they keep for this purpose. I ask them to try to think of new things each day so they aren’t simply repeating the same things over and over. Sometimes my oldest will write some words about her picture as well. When they are having a real low moment in the day I’ll have them grab their journal, sit somewhere quiet, and page through thanking God for all those things! It works much better to have them spend time giving thanks than simply having a time out!

Play Round Robin Gratitude

This is a great exercise when we are in the car and feeling a bit on the whiny side. We will take turns and share things we can think of to be thankful for. Sometimes it takes a few rounds before I see a change in mood, but it does wonders to shift everyone’s perspective. We also often do this at meal times. During our Sabbath dinner we always do this with things we were thankful for during the past week. Sometimes it is real open ended and sometimes I will give a category such as sharing things we are thankfor for related to our house, our family, Bible promises, things in nature, etc.

Write Thank You Notes

I will be the first to admit that there are times that the speed of life gets ahead of us and we neglect to write out a thank you for a gift or something, but in our home, we try to be very intentional about writing thank you notes for gifts and kind gestures. When my kids complain about sitting down and doing this after a birthday or after Christmas I will ask them if they’d prefer to return the gift! I help them to understand that so-and-so spent money and put thought into giving you this gift and it is right to tell them that you are thankful!

When my children were very young I’d write out the note for them (or have them dictate to me) and then have them draw a picture inside the card. Around preschool age, I would have them dictate what to write (two or three short sentences) and I would write it with a yellow marker. They would then trace the letters and sign their name at the bottom. My six-year-old will now write out her own messages and add a sweet little drawing. They love sending these notes in the mail.

I try to keep a stash of thank you notes or blank notes handy for writing out my own thank you notes. If I have cards handy I am much more likely to get them done. Thank you notes are becoming a bit of a lost art, but this is a habit and skill worth having! Thank you notes are always good manners, and they serve to help us slow down a bit and reflect on the kindness that we have been shown by someone else.

I have included a free printable below with three different thank you notes that can help your kids (or you) write out meaningful thank you notes. I make and sell these along with a variety of other types of stationary on my Etsy shop, but I am giving them to you for free! One is intended to be colored by a child, and the others are floral designs. Use them with size A7 invitation envelopes like these. If you prefer you can also purchase some of these designs or have them made with custom text at my shop!

There are two books that I would recommend related to the subject of gratitude. One is Jerry Bridges’ Respectable Sins. While this isn’t a book solely on gratitude there is an entire chapter related to “ingratitude” and he brings up gratitude throughout the chapters.

The other book is Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. This book is her autobiographical account of a season in her life. She delved into a deep study of gratitude during a writing exercise where she described one thousand gifts. Some Christians critique this book primarily for some of the poetic language she uses regarding intimacy with the Lord. Voskamp certainly approaches the Bible from a different perspective than I do, but I have read this particular book and gleaned a great deal on the topic of gratitude from her. Like all books (aside from the Bible), we ought to approach them with discernment and test them against Biblical truth. Her testimony of how gratitude transformed her relationship with the Lord and her heart attitudes can be extremely helpful.

I would love to hear from you! Have you found helpful ways to help your family grow in gratitude? Share in the comments below!

Writing Prompts for Young Children

In our home, we often talk through these types of questions before we begin writing.  A four year old may end up only writing 2 sentences while a six year old may end up with 5 sentences!

Who gave you this? 

What do you like about it? 

How did receiving this make you feel? 

What does this gift make you think about the person who gave it to you? 

What will you do with this?  Or, for monetary gifts, what will you spend it on?

What else would you like to say to this person?

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