I wrote an email to a colleague recently and the final sentence said, “have a wonderful weekend!” My preteen daughter looked over my shoulder and saw what I wrote. Her response? “It’s 2020, how can anybody have a wonderful weekend.”
Wait, what? Is this really how she feels? I want all of my children to be thankful for every season of their lives, even the unexpected season of 2020. I was disappointed. I then took a step back and looked closely at the year. Two homeschool conventions that we had planned on attending were canceled. The summer camp she would have gone to was canceled. Plus everything else. We can all think of dozens of cancelations. For me, the year has been a challenge for sure but in the mind of a child, I simply have no clue what it must be like for her to have to process such strange times.
I want to just smile and move on with life pretending that everything is normal. That everything is the same. But, it’s not. So, I can’t. I need to remember that this is hard for my children in so many more ways than I realize. So, how do I instill thankfulness in my children during these challenging times? Here are a few suggestions:
Exhibit Thankfulness Yourself
After fifteen years of marriage my husband and I finally decided to take a vacation away without the kids. We planned all of the details before COVID hit the scene so when COVID happened, our plans were canceled. I was disappointed but tried to stay strong. So, we planned a local(ish) trip only a few hours away. The day before we were supposed to leave my husband began exhibiting signs of COVID. Needless to say, that trip was canceled too. It was hard to not sulk and complain but I knew it was important to be thankful for what I do have, even when disappointed. Since my husband couldn’t go to work anyways due to his mild symptoms we had a stay-cation at home, with the kids, and had a blast! The Lord showed me how important it is to be thankful regardless of your circumstances.
Give Your Children an Opportunity to Serve
When a child (or anyone for that matter) is ungrateful it is usually because they are thinking mostly of themself. When we help them take their minds off of themselves, joy begins to return and you start to see that spark in their eye once again. Rather than allowing your child to sulk away in their room or with a device, give them a chance to help you in the kitchen with a family meal or treats that you are baking for a neighbor.
Make a Thankful Tree
Give your children an opportunity to think about what they are thankful for with a Thankful Tree. Find some sticks in the backyard, spray them gold or silver and place in a vase. Then, create handprints on colored cardstock or scrapbooking paper and have your children write something they are thankful for on half a dozen handprints each. Hang each of them on different branches and place it on display!
How do you encourage thankfulness in your home?
