周四就是感恩節(jié)了來看看如何培養(yǎng)一個心懷感恩的孩子

Be a Good Role Model

Your kids are always watching, listening, and learning from what you do and say. So express your own gratitude for what you have in life as part of your daily routine. You could weave in comments like these: "I'm exhausted because work was really hard today, but I'm so grateful to have a job so we can buy the things we need" or "Let's remember to tell Grandma how much we appreciate her coming to stay here this week while I'm out of town" or "Wow, can you believe that the car started even though it's so cold outside -- it would have been a really long walk home!"

Also look for low-key ways to remind your kids of the things they have to be thankful for in their lives, by saying things like, "Aren't we lucky to have our warm beds?" or "It's so wonderful to put on clean clothes each morning" or "You were so little when you got this toy and it's still so much fun to play with!" My wife's grandmother was legendary for frequently telling her three young daughters, "Remember, kids, you're having a happy childhood."

Encourage Personal and Social Responsibility

Expecting your child to put his toys away after playing prevents them from getting stepped on and broken, but it also helps him focus on the worth of what he already has. Giving to charity or doing volunteer work teaches kids about those who are less fortunate and that we all share responsibility for each other. Try any of these with your kids: Prepare food bags for homeless people you pass on the street; serve a meal at a shelter; pack goody boxes with personal thank-you notes for soldiers abroad; donate used toys and clothing; participate in a charity walk; help an elderly neighbor with her chores; visit nursing-home residents. Experiencing the gratitude that others feel for their small acts of kindness makes a lasting impression on kids.

Do your part to help protect the environment by walking or biking rather than driving short distances, and conserve water and energy. Visit a dump site to remind your kids of the effects of wastefulness. Recycling and composting teach kids that even "trash" and "garbage" have value and can someday be used again. Helping children recognize the resources they depend on may also make them think twice before leaving the lights on when they leave their room.

Look at the Big Picture

It's important for kids to understand their life within a greater global context. The freedoms, opportunities, and relative safety and security of our country and communities stand in stark contrast to much of the planet. Only when kids are aware of the larger world around them will they best appreciate their own little part of it. Introduce your child to age-appropriate sources of information, such as National Geographic Kids.

Consider Sponsoring a Child in Need

A variety of well-established charitable organizations, such as ChildFund International and Save the Children, offer a chance to form a personal bond with a child who lives in Africa, Asia, or Latin America. For a modest monthly donation, which your kids can help contribute to (with a portion of their allowance or lemonade-stand proceeds), your family will receive photos, updates, and letters from the child you are helping.

Create a Special Place

Help your kids design a box or a shelf to hold the possessions that mean the most to them: a vacation souvenir, a beautiful rock or seashell, a charm bracelet, an autographed baseball, a pet's picture. The spot should be relatively small, so only the most precious objects can fit. Setting aside limited space for objects of special significance helps kids remember to appreciate the little things that add up to happiness. If your child asks you to buy her something when you're out shopping, you could ask, "Is that toy important enough to you that you would take something out of your special box to make room for it?"

Say Thanks Year-Round

Indeed, it takes a village to raise a child, and many of the people in our life deserve gratitude. Help your children bake and deliver cookies to the local fire or police station; Skype with grandparents and cousins who live far away; wave to the mail carrier, garbage collector, and street cleaner as they pass your house; give the coach (and the referee!) a high five and a loud "Thanks" after each game. In fact, why limit Thanksgiving to once a year? You could designate a "Thursday thank-you dinner" once a month to repeat the most important part of the holiday. Turkey and stuffing aren't required -- only a special conversation about everything that your family has to be grateful for.

Don't forget to thank your children when they do whatever you've asked, and especially when they do something nice for someone else. Interestingly, research has shown that choosing the right words can help encourage your child to want to do good. One recent study of 3- to 6-year-olds in Child Development found that using a noun ("You can be my helper") motivates kids more than using a verb ("You can help") because nouns (such as helper or sharer) appeal to a child's positive sense of identity.

As parents, it's natural to feel sometimes like we are perpetual givers, our children are perpetual takers, and no matter how much we give and how much they take, it's never going to be enough for them. At those times, try to remember that egocentricity and selfishness are perfectly normal developmental stages of childhood. How we handle those stages will determine what kind of people our kids grow up to be.

An attitude of gratitude helps us thrive. Try these steps to instill a mind-set of gratitude in your little ones.

1. Say "Thank you." When "thank yous" are instilled in our vocabulary at home, a lifelong practice begins, even if it doesn't stick at first. You can gently restate a sentence with polite language inserted, or suggest saying "Thank you" together.
2. Live it. Set an example and show appreciation by conveying you paid attention to real effort: "Your room looks so nice with the toys in their bins. I'm so happy that you remembered to put them away!"
3. Teach through role play. If your little one is too shy to say "thank you" in a social setting, they can pretend to teach their stuffed animals or dolls to do so, while you play along.
4. Create daily or weekly routines. A regular question, "What are you most thankful for today?" can serve as a comforting routine at bedtime or a highlight of a weekly dinner ritual.
5. Give concrete examples. At dinner, you can play the Rose and Thorn game, where the person whose turn it is to speak holds a rose and tells about one rose (a good thing) and one thorn (a challenging thing). A metaphor like the rose helps children develop gratitude even when things aren't going their way. Keeping the rose in a vase all week serves as another reminder of coping with natural ups and downs. Books like The Giving Tree, Have You Filled a Bucket Today? and Mama Panya's Pancakes offer simple, powerful metaphors of virtues.
6. Set expectations when shopping. Melanie Etemad of Bryn Mawr, PA shared a useful approach that her husband, a psychiatrist, came up with when their daughter Elyse was just two: "We’d say today is a 'look' day. Just like going to the museum, we enjoy the beautiful things, but we aren't planning to buy anything. ... We also tried to ensure that there were more 'look' days than 'buy' days, specifically to inoculate against the idea of always buying things, knowing that it breeds discontent. Now, at age six, Elyse knows that most of the time when we go out, we are not necessarily planning to buy anything and has the habit to ask if today is a 'look' day or a 'buy' day."
7. Make giving and volunteering a habit. Set aside toys and clothing in good condition. Deliver the items to a deserving cause together. Talk about the process and why you care. Tap into organizations like Global Giving that offer a virtual marketplace for making a difference.
8. Create gratitude gift lists. Alongside a holiday or birthday gift wish list, for every item, family members can list something they are grateful for. These are the "priceless" gifts. By generating the list in a beautiful way, you demonstrate how valuable the alternate list is; it can be a keepsake for years to come.
9. Thank those who serve. Your example of acknowledging those who quietly make a difference in your life, from the bus driver to the person sweeping up the aftermath of a family lunch out, sends a powerful message to your children. Likewise, organizations like Operation Gratitude and Blue Star Families remember those serving in the military. Kathy Roth-Douquet, Founder and Chair of Blue Star Families, says, "In addition to a thank-you letter, we ask the participant to pledge to do some form of community service ... thanks and appreciation is best when it involves action, and a sense of all being in a worthwhile effort together."
10. Be patient. Kids can't be cajoled into showing appreciation, but your gentle efforts and examples will instill gratitude as a way of life.