There are so many life skills that we want to teach our children. Not taking others for granted is one of them. We want our kids to appreciate the people around them who are helping them grow, helping them out, being kind to them etc. Whether they are family members or people that come in and out of their life, children should learn to be thankful to them and showing appreciation.
Showing Appreciation To Others Is Important
Talk to your child about the people they come into contact with on a daily basis – who are those people and how are they helping them? Perhaps they are teaching them something new or they are a friend who is looking after them because they are not feeling well. Every day there will be someone doing something for them with no agenda – not expecting anything back. Why not make a list of those people together and then talk about how they can appreciate them and not take them for granted. What could they say to them? Perhaps it is just ‘thank you’ or maybe it is buying them or making them a gift. I think it depends on the help they have received and time they took out. It also depends on the person that is helping them. If it is someone that they love then get them to show love to them.
If your child is not doing this at the moment get them to put themselves in the other persons shoes – imagine how they would feel if they did something nice for a friend and it went un-noticed, it was not recognised. I bet it would leave them thinking, ‘why did I bother helping them?’ Not taking others for granted is an essential trait to have and not having it shows lack of appreciation and respect for others, their values and who they are. When they are grateful it shows them in a good light and others will ask them to help them in the future. It is nice to be asked for help as it can make children feel like they have something to offer. What do you think?
For more articles and useful information on life skills such as appreciation The Parents Toolkit is really useful.
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