How To Start A Kid-Friendly Gratitude Journal
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to talk with our families about gratitude.
Many of us have traditions like going around the table saying things we’re thankful for, but true gratitude is an ongoing process.
Gratitude is an active appreciation from someone for something (tangible or not) that the person has received. When expressing gratitude, people usually recognize that sources of goodness lie outside of themselves, which allows them to connect to something larger than themselves.
Not to mention, positive psychology research shows that gratitude is consistently associated with long term happiness. This means that when we teach our kids gratitude, they also learn to experience positive emotions, enhance their social interactions, improve their physical health, acknowledge adversity, and build a stronger sense of purpose.
The tricky part is… since gratitude is an ongoing process, there’s not a one-and-done lesson we can have with our kids to teach them how to be grateful.
Instead, gratitude is a process; a discipline that they have to hone consistently over time.
That’s why we suggest starting gratitude journaling with your kids while they’re young.
What is a gratitude journal?
Gratitude journaling is a popular practice is positive psychology. It is a daily practice that requires you to consider the things you are grateful for. There’s only two rules:
Though you can (and will) have some repeats, you can’t choose the same few items each day.
It has to list things big AND small. This means you could be grateful for your 30 year marriage to your spouse, and just as grateful for the warm cup of coffee you got to enjoy that morning.
The goal is simple - to make a daily practice of recognizing things you are grateful for.
We recommend adults take up this practice, too, though it’s never too early to start positive habits like these with your kids.
Starting A Kid-Friendly Gratitude Journal
Step 1 - Choose a journal.
This can be anything from a leather bound notebook to a few sheets of construction paper stapled together. You can make a shopping trip out of it - traveling to bookstores so your child can pick out the journal they want. Or, you can download our personalized gratitude journals for every age.
Just make sure whatever journal you choose is fit for your child’s writing level. In other words, if your child is 2 years old, you probably don’t want to buy a college ruled notebook. If your children are younger, we recommend a blank journal for pictures or dotted lined handwriting paper for their emergent writing. Once your children become a little older, you can begin buying traditionally lined notebooks.
A good rule of thumb is blank paper until your child starts school, and then complying with the school supply list recommendations your teacher sends out for each grade level.
Step 2 - Set up a writing space in your home.
Gratitude starts with mindfulness, so if your child is trying to complete their gratitude journal at the breakfast table where their baby sister is crying and their tween brother is blasting his music, it’s probably not going to go very well.
Help your child find a quiet space that is completely their own during the time of journaling. This might be the breakfast table in the morning, or it could be a desk in the kitchen, a comfy area in their bedroom, or some other place they like to craft and focus.
Allow your child to have some say in this space as well. The more appealing they find their writing space, the more excited they will be to write.
Step 3 - Choose a time for your child to journal.
Since journaling is a true discipline, it is helpful to have a consistent time that your child will journal in order to build the habit. Kids have a lot going on inside a tiny, hyperactive brain, so if they have not built gratitude into their routine, it is very likely that they will forget it.
Check in with them throughout the first few days to ensure they’ve completed their journal when they decided they would. You may even offer to journal during this time with them for extra accountability (and mindful discipline for you, too)!
Step 4 - Teach them how the journal works.
This is the hardest part, especially for kids who are younger.
If your children have not yet started school, I would recommend starting at the VERY beginning. This is a journal. This is the direction you turn the pages. This is the direction we fill it with our writing. You start on the first page. When you finish on the first page, the next day you go to the next page - not some random page of your choosing in the middle of the book...
Then, have the gratitude chat. Explain what gratitude is, and why it is so important. (Or, ask your child what they think gratitude is and why it’s so important!) Explain the idea of the gratitude journal so they understand what they’re supposed to be doing, and complete the first entry together.
If your child is under the age of 4, I recommend choosing one thing they are grateful for each day.
If your child is ages 5 - 7 years, I recommend choosing two things they are grateful for each day.
If your child is over the age of 8, I recommend choosing three things they are grateful for each day.
Step 5 - Ask if they want to share what they wrote about.
Remember, journals are meant to be private, so you never want to force your child to tell you what they are grateful for. Some days, especially when they get older, it might be something a lot deeper than even they understand yet, so you don’t want to rush them into sharing.
However, many parents find that their children are more than willing, if not genuinely excited, to share their gratefulness reflection with the family. Which is exactly the kind of reaction we want to something as impactful as gratitude in our children!
