Gratitude Techniques to Use in Parenting

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Positive Psychology is a newer branch gaining fast trends and popularity. Positive Psychology focuses less on what is going wrong and more on improving your well-being and quality of life. One of the techniques you can use while practicing Positive Psychology is gratitude.

Focusing on positive psychology in our parenting journey can benefit our children and us.

Positive Psychology Techniques to Use in Parenting

Many Positive psychology Techniques can be used in parenting. For a more extensive list, you can read it here. However, for this post, I want to focus on one specific technique: gratitude. There are several different branches of methods that can be used in Positive Psychology. For example, there are areas of focus on strength, gratitude, forgiveness, and so many more.

Can Positive Psychology be Used in Parenting?

Positive Psychology can be used in parenting. This is a great way to focus your energy on creating a more positive home life for you and your family. It can increase your flourishing and well-being. Positive Psychology can also increase your joy and happiness as a mother.

Benefits of Using Positive Psychology in Parenting

• Positive psychology creates satisfying relationships
• Encourages gratitude
• Shows that we can take control of our lives
• Better sense of well-being
• Increased resilience
• Ability to notice surroundings in depth
• Better sleep
• More positivity in your life
• Flourishing
• Increase the capacity to strengthen attributes

Gratitude Techniques

Gratitude Journal

When we focus on gratitude, we can teach our children how to look outside ourselves and see what all we have to be thankful for. One easy way to do this is to start a gratitude journal with them. This is so simple. All you need is a journal, and every day write down one or two things you are grateful for.

Gratitude Visit

A gratitude visit can be significant. To do so, think about somebody who has contributed significantly to your life. It could be a grandparent who had a considerable influence or a teacher who taught you how to excel in something you enjoy; there are many opportunities to show gratitude to those you love. Write this person a letter and then visit them. While you’re visiting them, read them the letter out loud. Doing so can mean a lot to the person you are showing gratitude to, but it also helps humble us to the point where we can start showing appreciation more frequently. This is a great skill to teach our children. Have your child think of somebody to do a gratitude visit with, and then get started.

Create a Gratitude Jar With Your Child

A gratitude jar is very simple to make. Find a jar you are not using or buy one from the store and paint it. You can create a gratitude jar with markers or paint if you want. Every day when you come home, write one specific thing you are grateful for or more and put it in the gratitude jar. At the end of the year, pull all your paper out and read it aloud. You may be surprised at what happened throughout the year that you can be grateful for.

Gratitude Rocks

Gratitude rocks are another great activity to do with your child. Similar to the gratitude jar except in rock form. Paint your rocks with paint and let them dry. Then write something that you are grateful for on each rock. They can be one word or more such as love, beauty, my family, God, and so forth. Leave the rocks around in your yard or take them out into town and leave them everywhere for other people to see; this is a great way to spread joy and encourage gratitude in your local community.

Gratitude Prompts

Gratitude prompts are super easy to make. You could even find some online to print off. A gratitude prompt is the beginning of a sentence that allows deep thinking for you and your child about what you are grateful for. Some examples of a gratitude prompt are:

• Who is one person you are thankful for and your family, and why?
• What is one beautiful thing in nature that you are grateful for?
• What made you happy today?
• Why are you thankful for your teacher?
• What is something that happened today on the playground that made you thankful?
• What ability are you grateful for today?

Gratitude prompts can help you dig deep and think about things we sometimes take for granted.

Gratitude Flower

This is a fun craft that you can make with your child. Draw a circle on construction paper and draw 10 to 12 petals to create your flower. After you cut them out, have your child write down one thing they are grateful for. Then put your flower together. Hang your flower to remind you daily what you are grateful for.

Mental Subtraction

Mental subtraction is a very interesting and beneficial exercise to try for yourself and your children. It is so simple but effective. Think about one thing in your life that has happened, and then think about what your life would be like if it had never happened.

For example, if I had never gone to college two states away, I never would have met my husband. Then I would not have the beautiful children that I have now. This is a great exercise to help remind us of the events that have happened in life that have led us to where we are and why we are grateful for it. Looking for another way to do this exercise? Suppose you think about your ability and what your life would be like if you did not have that ability, such as seeing or walking.

Savor Walk

A savor walk is beneficial in many ways. First, it gets you thinking about your life and helps you slow down by going on a walk. You can do this by yourself or with your family. While on this walk, consider your life, what makes it unique, and what you were grateful for. Teaching your child to do this is beneficial because it gets them out in nature, gives them some exercise, clears their mind, and helps them focus on the positives of life.

Gratitude Tree

A gratitude tree is similar to a gratitude flower. The only difference is you create a tree instead of a flower. Then, hang your tree up in your home and add to it whenever you like it. This is an excellent exercise during Thanksgiving but can also be done throughout the year.

Thankful Paper Chain

A thankful paper chain is easy to make. Cut out 20 to 30 paper strips. Make it as colorful or as plain as you would like. Have your child write down something they are grateful for on each strip. Connect the strips to make a paper chain. You can add to your thankful paper chain daily and watch it grow.

Gratitude Box

A gratitude box is a special box you create and put in something you are grateful for daily. Have your child decorate their special box in any way they want. Then write something they are thankful for that day on paper. This is a beautiful craft to keep you thinking and adding to every day or every week. At the end of the year, pull out your gratitude box and read everything that happened to you throughout the year that you were grateful for.

Highs and Lows

This is an activity that we do every night in our home. We go around the table during dinner, and each person says one thing they were grateful for, which was their high, and one thing that happened that was bad or sad or that they weren’t pleased about, which was their low. This is a great way to share and also stretches the mind when you feel like nothing has happened that day.

Three Things

Three things is a great exercise for adults and children to do. Every day think about or write down three good things that happened to you. You could do this in addition to highs and lows, or you can write this down in your gratitude journal. You may want to focus on things that were kind that people did or positive things that happened in your day, or you can even concentrate on three funny things that made you laugh. Whatever it is, this exercise helps train your mind to focus on the positives that happened to you.

Benefits of practicing gratitude

There are many benefits of practicing gratitude:

• It allows you to appreciate relationships deeper
• Enhances empathy
• Improves your psychological health
• Improves your sleep
• Increases your self-esteem
• Enhances positive emotion
• Makes you friendlier

How gratitude Creates a More Positive Home

With all these benefits, Positive Psychology can help you create a more peaceful home when you practice gratitude. It opens your eyes to simple things you may otherwise miss. Gratitude helps encourage positive emotions in your home, which benefits you and your children. It encourages more profound relationships with your children and allows you to get to know them better and more deeply.

Gratitude is a beautiful way to enhance your parenting style.

You can use one or more techniques to encourage gratitude in your house. Doing so will promote positive and peaceful habits in your home, leading to a more positive and friendly life with your family.

Read Blog Posts:

• What is Positive Psychology, and Can it be Used in Parenting?
• 7 Ways to Build Confidence in Your Child
• 9 Ways to Build Your Child’s Emotional Bucket

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