GREENWOOD, Ind — When you ask most parents what they want for their kids, it is for them to be happy. It is what we try to do for our kids. It guides our decisions about their education and discipline and it is the reason we are searching for that perfect Christmas gift.
13News Education Expert Jennifer Brinker from Greenwood Middle School joined us on the Sunday before Thanksgiving to talk about some of the keys to raising happy kids.
Dustin Grove: So what is the secret to raising happy kids?
Mrs. Brinker: Well there are a lot of factors that go into raising happy kids. It is important to provide kids with what they need, show support, be invested and intentional with your time with them, but I think one of the most important things you can do to increase happiness for your child is to teach gratitude, so I thought it would be a great topic for this Thanksgiving week.
Dustin Grove: How do we go about teaching our kids to be grateful?
Mrs. Brinker: We begin by creating a culture in the home where gratitude is modeled and is a word that is used frequently. It is normal this time of year to go around the table and say what we are thankful for. Make sure that you model a deep awareness of gratitude instead of stating that you are grateful for things. You can be thankful for people-thankful for health-thankful for the time to have dinner together. Making this a frequent dinner conversation will increase gratitude over time.
Dustin Grove: You work in a middle school, and I’m sure that you hear quite a bit about kids being ungrateful or entitled-what would you say is causing this?
Mrs. Brinker: Well I think that sometimes we adults have the best of intentions for making our kids happy and protecting them, but in the meantime, we can spoil them or make them think that they deserve everything good that comes their way. Part of having grateful kids is letting them know that we are fortunate. We are not entitled to all of the good things in our life. We can be guilty of this as adults and think we deserve all we have because we work hard or have made good choices but the truth is, we have also had quite a bit of luck when things go right too. No one has a perfect life, but we all have something to give thanks for.
Dustin Grove: What other kinds of activities can help increase gratitude in our kids?
Mrs. Brinker: I am a big fan of thank you cards. A good rule to go by is that a gift from someone can’t be used or played with until a thank you card has been written. Scaffold this activity. Preschool-aged kids can even add a sticker or a drawing to a thank you that you write. As they get older they can add more. Use a verbal “thank you” frequently out and about at stores or in your own home. Randomly choose a letter of the alphabet during a car ride and see how many things your child can come up with that letter that they are grateful for. Keep a gratitude journal-you can grab one on Amazon for around $5/$6 and have your child write in it each day. There are numerous activities.
Dustin Grove: Any specific for Thanksgiving day?
Mrs. Brinker: Get out the paper and crayons, the bigger the paper the better. Have guests, not just the kids, draw and write things they are thankful for. I guarantee it will be a good activity for all ages. Hang these up somewhere in your home to see visual reminders of all you have to give thanks for!