Teaching Gratitude to Kids

Gratitude 

All around us now people are talking about the importance of gratitude and how just being thankful has a huge amount of positive benefits. It can increase your mood, lower your stress levels and even strengthen your immune system! This is what science is telling us now and this is why so many people are starting to keep gratitude journals!

Allah has given us so much! Look at all the small and big things that Allah has given us. Look at yourself and what is out there in nature. But unfortunately not a lot of people thank Allah.

Look at this ayah and what Allah says:

And He it is Who made for you the ears and the eyes and the hearts; little is it that you give thanks (23:78)

On the other hand, we also know that Allah has promised those who are grateful that they will be given more!

So how do we teach our kids to have gratitude and be thankful:

1. Get your kids to write a thank you note: Teach them to write thank you notes to anyone who has given them a present or done something nice to them. Let them send it or even call the person and read it to them. Make it a habit to send at least one thank you letter a month. In this way they will always remember the positives that others have done, have a great social relationship with them and keep these good things in their memory.

2. Count Allah's blessings (as many as they can!): Pick a time when you can all sit together (at least once a week) and pick three to five things that happened over the week that you are grateful for.

3. Thank someone in your head: Even if you have no time to write (or your kids can't write yet! think about someone you would like to thank. It doesn't even have to be someone you know. It could be someone who made the great toy that they are playing with, the lovely book that they just read or the show they just watched. Encourage them to think about these people that spent their time doing productive things for other people.

4. Make duaa for someone in your prayer: How amazing would it be if kids learned to thank others by doing duaa for them! Why not teach them to say a duaa for someone in one of their sujood and to choose someone different in every prayer.

5. Keep a gratitude journal: The research on keeping a gratitude journal is unbelievable! The more you write things down that you are thankful for the happier you are likely to become! More on journaling and it's great benefits to come :)

6. Take a gratitude walk. Step out of the house with the goal of looking at Allah's creation and thanking Him for it. Look at the trees, flowers, leaves, anything that comes your way and talk about how amazing they make our lives. If you take the time to notice the good things you will feel happier too.