Growing Grateful Kids (And Grateful Moms!)

Last fall, I purchased a book entitled, Growing Grateful Kids by Susie Larson.  I was intrigued by the title right away because of course I wanted my girls to learn to be grateful.  How many times had I lamented to our daughters, “Can’t you just be thankful for what you have?”

So I opened the book, ready to discover the best way to put the attitude of gratitude into our children.  And right off the bat, I read, 

“The key is to realize that as a parent you cannot impart what you do not possess.  So growing grateful kids means learning to be a grateful parent – and that means genuine gratitude for everything from one pancake for breakfast to a flower smiling at you through a crack in the sidewalk.”

Wow!  And here I thought this book was going to be all about how to “fix” my kids.  Turns out, it was going to be about “fixing” by MY attitude first!  Was I truly grateful for every thing we’d been blessed with?  Was I imparting the value of gratefulness with my everyday actions?  Joseph Joubert said, “To teach is to learn twice.”  If I want our children to learn gratefulness, it seemed the biggest lesson would be mine. 

One of my favorite bloggers is Rachel at Number 17.  She's funny...and real...and relate-able.  At a recent stop at her blog, I noticed that during the month of November, she's doing a project called Thankful on Paper -- it's all about taking the time to actually THANK the people we appreciate; a challenge to express our gratitude in a real and true way.

So tune in tomorrow, as I try to take the gratitude in my heart and put it into words.  And go visit Rachel's site, and be Thankful on Paper, yourself.

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; 

make known among the nations what he has done.   

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.  

 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgments he pronounced.”   

Psalms 105:1, 4-5

And tell me, what's one thing you're thankful for today?