Teaching appreciation and gratefulness

Kari

I thought this was a topic a while back, but I searched and only got two hits for the word "grateful." Maybe it was a different term. Anyway, I'm curious how others teach gratefulness to their kids. It seems like at Christmas, Valentine's Day, and now Easter Justin has a fantastic day and loves his new things; but as the day begins to wind down he starts to complain that he wished it wasn't Easter because he felt let down by the Easter bunny that he didn't get more gifts/candy/eggs/etc. Yet all day he was pleased with what he had received.

I tried talking to him about how we often choose to be happy or unhappy. That went right over his head. I tried to get him to brainstorm the times he's felt truly happy this week and how none of them revolved around toys or getting more stuff. I talked to him about jealousy and being thankful for what we have vs. wanting more and more and more. He was too grumpy to listen or be reasoned with.

A few minutes later I told him it made me sad that he's unhappy, and that we might be able to turn that around by taking turns saying a few things that we're truly grateful for. He seemed to turn around then and was fine until bed.

I read somewhere that learning to appreciate what you have starts with being thankful, so maybe I should keep going with the "What are three things you're thankful for today?" talk every day to get him thinking along those lines. But I could use some inspiration for other ideas because he can become resistant to routine questioning. What do you do? Anyone else dealing with this? Is it just typical behavior for 4/5 year olds?

K&H

We often end a big day by talking about what our favorite parts of the day were. It doesn't usually include talking about how these things aren't about "things" or any of that.. Just focusing on the positive.

Zen

My 5 and 15 year olds are clear but I deal with this all the time with my 12 year old. He loves everything we do and everything he gets ... but there's always that "more" that he wishes for when the end comes. I don't have any answers but I think it's like the depression I feel at the end of vacations. Everything was so great that I hate when it ends!

michgirl

And I am now singing " I'm so blue-hoo-hoo, blue-hoo-hooo, blue-hoo-hooo-hoooo, I'm so blue I don't know what to do!"

Kari

I've got that video in the basement. It might be time to bring it up and watch it. It may be like what Zen said, that he's upset because the anticipation and excitement part are over. He did ask yesterday what the next holiday would be and wasn't thrilled with the next three but did like that his birthday was the fourth holiday.

K&H

Went looking for ideas after being reminded of this thread. Here are some interesting little things to read:

http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/behavioral/teaching-children-to-be-grateful/

http://parentingsimply.com/teaching-children-gratitude/

http://www.wikihow.com/Teach-Kids-to-Be-More-Thankful-People