The months of November and December are busy months for Americans. As soon as Halloween has passed, Thanksgiving plans are made and Christmas parties scheduled. During all the busyness of the holiday season our children can get lost in the shuffle; With parents running here and there, stressing out about little things that seem very big in the moment, and worrying about getting the decorations on the food table just right, our children can start to wonder where the beauty of the holiday season has gone. Here are some ways to bring back the joy to the season and to instill an attitude of gratitude into your child.
1.Model the attitude that you want your child to have.
Our little ones are our mirrors. If you can’t understand why they have been grumpy lately, or are speaking in short sentences, with an annoyed tone, think about how your yourself have been acting lately. This is a busy season of the year so make time to slow down with your children and sit and reflect upon the day, week, upcoming holiday. Before tucking them in, or during pre-sleep cuddles, you have the perfect opportunity to talk to your children and see how they are processing the business. Consider asking these questions:
*What are you thankful for today?
*What was your favorite part of the day?
*What was your least favorite part of the day?
*How can we make tomorrow better? {Make sure that they know this is just a thought process and not necessarily something that will happen.} You may need to talk about how your child can change their response/attitude to certain situations.
As you and your child go through these questions be willing to share from your perspective as well; admit areas that you may have responded negatively in and talk about how you are learning to respond with the correct attitude.
2.Create traditions that encourage thankfulness.
By having traditions that encourage thankfulness and counting ones blessings, you can help your child to grow up with a sense of responsibility for their emotions and the realization of how they are truly blessed.
Here are some ideas of traditions that can you can incorporate into your holiday plans:
*Serving food at a local food bank or homeless shelter.
*Making and distributing little snack bags or filling bags with toiletries for the homeless.
*Making a thankfulness turkey and then writing things you are thankful for on each feather. How many feathers can you get?
*Make a pumpkin train by cutting out pumpkins for each day in November, or two week before Thanksgiving, or for however long you want to do it. Each day write things you are thankful for on a pumpkin.
*Make a family gratitude/thankfulness journal. Encourage your children to look over the journal when they are feeling down or think they never get anything.
3.Encourage your children to write thank you notes.
It seems like thank you notes and cards are not something that is done very often anymore, but encourage your children to write these cards when they receive something, when someone else has done something to encourage your child or to be nice to them, and when your child wants to encourage someone else. Everyone likes getting mail and a pretty card with a heart-felt note inside can make someone’s day.
In the same spirit, don’t forget to write thank you notes to your child as well. Let them know that you appreciate it when they help around the house, when they are kind to their siblings, or when they go out of their way to show kindness to someone else. Remember, your children will mirror you, act the way that you would want them to act towards others.
Rebekah Thompson writes at Surviving Toddlerhood. She has been married for nine years and is momma to four little boys ages eight, five, three, and eight months. She is the author of The First Six Weeks: Thriving Naturally On Your Postpartum Journey and a certified birth doula through DONA International. She enjoys good coffee and tea, dark chocolate, running and learning as much as possible about healthy pregnancy/postpartum and fitness. You can check out her blog at www.survivingtoddlerhood.com
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