Gratitude. Explaining, Being and Staying Proactive With Children

If you haven’t figured it out yet as a mom that your child hears EVERYTHING!!!!

A  couple days later they will repeat something you said on the phone with your mom, girlfriend, or spouse! So I always have to remind myself that I need to be mindful in what I am doing and saying in hopes that they catch a glimpse of good in me!

The holidays are over and while we love the cozy feeling of the season, there are various tings we can focus on all year long to help our kids see GRATITUDE! Onesie pajamas are my jam and my husband gets a good chuckle to see the stock I have collected over the years. They only come out through November December!

So now that we are entering those post-holiday blues, here are some tips to prove to our kids that gratitude still counts. 

1. Being the example.Walking on the beach I saw this momma with her big fat chubby yummy baby walking up from the shore. Her husband not insight. And I thought that is the best picture of her and her baby! would’t it be wonderful to capture that! So I did. I stopped mid walk with my kids and took that picture, stopped her and asked her her phone number to text it to her. She was so beside herself just because I took the time to do that for her.My girls asked me as we walked away “Mom, why did you do that”?I told them “The mom is never in the picture. If you see an opportunity to do something nice for someone, even if they don’t ask, you do it, sis”.and she thought about it…

   Vea, my 10-year old, is now snapping pics of random people and asking them if they want her to text them it 🙂 

2. Find the good even in the “Evil” oneWhat a wonderful take Disney did on Sleeping Beauty! Maleficent is a must watch and is a regular in my house!When we watch movies together and there happens to be a “evil” “sassy” “popular” character, which usually always loses. I always ask my girls at the end what were some of the good traits of this certain character. I feel like that makes them actually try and see the good in someone rather than just categorize them into that specific group. Mind you the worst we have gotten to is the mean popular girls on American girl movies but you get the gist of it.
3. What are you thankful for activitiesI have found so many that are so fun do to every year! A activity we love is I bought a white table cloth and each year everyone has wrote down what they are thankful for. Its so fun to go back and see what they have wrote. From Cheetos to a new dress to mom kissing them goodnight!
4. Also a fun one that is a must do is “bring your treat” to a person of service. Having them realize there are specific people that put their own lives in danger to protect us! That can range from a Police man, to a teacher, to a crossing guard. Last year we brought cookies to our dog groomer thanking her that she could be bit by a dog but still continues to cut and wash our cute furry friends! 

Like I said, it doesn’t always have to be a big “to-do”. But most of the time those small things makes a big impact.