Parenting with Gratitude

By Angie Bailey

When we nourish the spirit of a child, we help build confidence, self-esteem and an appreciation for all the blessings that surround us every day. We can feed a child's soul in many ways - one way is by bringing more gratitude into our everyday family life.

There is a special, warm feeling around your heart when true gratitude is experienced. In a day, how often do you stop and give thanks? Some choose to express gratitude in daily prayer - and that's a sacred time - but it's much bigger than that. What if that warm feeling could surround your heart many times during your day? How would that feel? Personally, I have found that the more often I am grateful, the more abundant my life becomes. Not that I suddenly gain an abundance of material things - I just become aware of the many blessings that already surround me. How can we bring this concept to our children?

As adults - especially in a parenting role- our behavior is a model for our children. This is true even at the earliest of ages. Children are very intuitive beings. They pick up on the peacefulness and joy of an adult...and also the stress and sadness. When a particular behavior is modeled often, the child begins to see it as the norm. That behavior, then, may become a standard part of the child's behavior. The good news is - we get to choose the behavior we want to model for our children. When gratitude is a regular practice, your family life will soon embrace the many blessings in your life and find comfort in the abundance that is already yours.