Dr. Tudge was recently featured on the Your Parenting Mojo podcast about gratitude, and discusses why it is more than teaching your child to say ‘Thank You.’
Ever been in any of these scenarios?
“I took my children on a fantastic vacation to Disney World. My youngest ate it up but my five-year-old pouted the whole time. The lines were too long; the weather was too hot; the food sucked. Why can’t he appreciate the sacrifices we make for him? It’s not like us parents want to go to Disney World…”
“My mom gave my three-year-old daughter a beautiful and expensive doll for her birthday. My daughter doesn’t really like dolls, and when she realized what the gift was she threw it aside and went to play with her Legos. My mom was really hurt, and I was mortified. Why can’t my daughter just be thankful for a gift even if it’s not exactly what she wanted?”
“My five-year-old has it so easy. We buy him toys; we pick up after him; we go out for treats (ice cream and the like) all the time. He really wants for nothing, but he’s so ungrateful. He has absolutely no idea how good he has it, and that there are people in the world with so much less than him. What can I do about this?”
Ah, gratitude.
We all want our kids to feel it and to express it, but somehow they seem to have such a hard time doing it. Really, how hard can it be to say “thank you” when someone gives you a gift?
Please visit Jen Lumanlan’s website to stream the podcast or you can listen via iTunes.