Expressing appreciation for your children contributes to their personal sense of wellbeing. Take time to recognize your children’s positive behaviour to demonstrate how much you truly appreciate their little and large accomplishments.
How Do You Show Appreciation as a Parent?
The first step in showing genuine gratitude toward your children is to identify the kinds of behaviors you appreciate. These can be chores like washing dishes or doing Homework without being told. They can also be more thoughtful gestures like holding the door for you when your arms are full.
Encourage Your Children’s Efforts.
Once you’ve identified behaviors you want to encourage in your children, make it a point to acknowledge these behaviors whenever possible. Show your thanks by explaining and being specific about what you appreciate. For example, you can say, “I really appreciate that you cleaned your room, even though I didn’t ask you. I was able to get more done because you helped.” By clearly communicating in this way, it will have a much stronger effect on your child.
Here are other ways you can show appreciation for your children:
– Display your children’s Tests or special school projects on the refrigerator.
– Put handwritten thank you notes in your children’s lunch bags. Express your gratitude, and wish them a wonderful day.
– If your children have saved you time by helping with a chore, share that extra time with them. For instance, tell them you have time to read an extra bedtime story because they helped you wash the dishes. Check out the Kumon Recommended Reading List for books you can read to your children.
For instance, tell them you have time to read an extra bedtime story because they helped you wash the dishes. Check out the Kumon Recommended Reading List for books you can read to them.
Showing your children appreciation not only increases their self-esteem and encourages future positive behaviors, it also models the act of gratitude. This means children will learn to show their appreciation for others, and those who show others gratitude develop positive relationships, which helps them lead happier and more satisfying lives.
This advice is brought to you by Kumon Math & Reading Centres. For more tips and information, visit www.facebook.com/kumon. You can learn more about the Kumon program at www.kumon.ca.
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