6 Ways to Teach Your Kids to Appreciate All You Do For Them, Because You Do a Lot

It may seem simple, but when your child says "please" and "thank you" when you fulfill one of the 10,000 requests they throw at you every day, they're acknowledging that they're asking you for a favor and you're completing that favor, versus treating you like their own personal servant. It's an important habit to start at a young age, even when you're doing things for them they couldn't do for themselves. Remind them that restaurant servers, childcare providers, grandparents, and anyone else who helps them also deserve the kindness of a "please" and "thank you."

Once your children are old enough to help clean up toys and their rooms, retrieve their own snacks and drinks, and care for family pets, it's vital that you require them to do so. Not only will it lighten your load and teach them responsibility, but doing chores reminds them that all those tasks you complete for them actually require work. Once they do that work themselves, they're more likely to appreciate when you do it for them.

When your child receives a gift from a friend, a family member, or even you, help them start the habit of writing a prompt and sincere thank you note. You can start this even before they can spell their own names by writing a note for them, then having them draw a picture or add a scribble of their own. You're still teaching them that a gift deserves an expression of gratitude.

Our children watch and learn from everything we do, so be a model of gratitude. Effusively thank servers and childcare helpers. When you're visiting your own parents and they make you breakfast or fill up your gas tank (am I the only almost 40-year-old whose parents still do this?!), be sure that your child sees you expressing gratitude. Yes, parents of all ages love to help their kids, but they also deserve thanks.

Get your kids involved in being of service to your community and those in need. Talk about passing along unused toys and clothes to children who have less than them and have them help choose which items to donate. Sign up for a shift at a local food bank or soup kitchen. Find a cause that resonates with you and involve your children in it as well. The goal is to remind them just how lucky they are and how grateful they should be for their blessings.

Create a gratitude jar — or get fancy with this one from Francesca's ($50) — and have your child write or dictate one thing, person, or action they're grateful for in their lives every day for a set amount of time. We're betting you'll make the list more than once, and even better, you're setting up a habit of focusing on life's gifts, not just its hardships.