Practicing Gratitude: Parenting Teens & Tweens

That parenting tweens and teens is challenging is an understatement. We give so much to our kids, but they don’t always appreciate what they have.

The good news is that there is an antidote. Gratitude. Cultivating a gratitude practice can do wonders. This is especially true as they approach and enter their teen years.

“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your

soul.” ~Amy Collette

The advantages of a gratitude practice are impressive. Many studies have shown gratitude

to be strongly associated with a long list of benefits:

• greater happiness,
• more positive emotions,
• less anxiety and depression,
• better sleep,
• increased optimism,
• strong relationships, and
• improved health and well-being.

If you want your kids to tap into gratitude, make it more fun to do so. Trade something they

want for adopting a gratitude practice for one week. Positive incentives have been shown to

help teens focus and stay motivated. (Palminteri et al., 2016)

The whole family can get involved. Studies have shown that when parents express more

gratitude, kids express more gratitude as well. (Rothenberg et al., 2016; Hussong et al.,

2018)

Here’s a simple daily gratitude practice. Each person identifies 3 things they are grateful for,

on a daily basis for one week. They record their thoughts in a notebook or journal. At the end

of the week, get together as a family. Go around and, one-by-one, share your insights. Each

person shares the top 3 things they were grateful for over the week, and why.

If each kid completes the challenge, provide the agreed upon reward. This can be something

as simple as quality time with dad or as tangible as that new album they want to download.

 

Everyone benefits from sharing gratitude. Plus, it brings the family closer together. WinWin!

If you’re interested in more fun “life challenges,” check out the dripdrop app. The Mental

Fitness App for Gen Z makes it fun for kids to take small steps towards improved well-being.

 

Jason Brown is a proud father of a teenage son and the co-founder of dripdrop.gg