by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is…) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambhristianauthor.com
Train up a child…
True Thankfulness
I remember how good it felt when our children were small and they would run to us, throw their arms around our neck and say, “Thanks, Mom”, or “Thanks, Dad”. There was no doubt in our minds that they really meant it.
Sometimes, we may feel “guilted” into saying thanks. We keep hearing others say that we should be thankful, so we try to be thankful when we are not really feeling it. Our kids may be feeling the same way. After all, how can we really be truly thankful if we have never had to do without the things we have. We don’t miss what we have always had. It seems that we may, in some cases, have to do without in order to be thankful when we receive. There is an old expression, “You never miss the water until the well runs dry. There is a lot of truth in that!
What can we do to help our children be truly thankful? In columns past, I have advocated playing games with the children by doing without certain things. Such things as flipping the switch on the electric box for a half day, or going without a meal or two are suggestions I have made. In addition, I would like to recommend that children learn more about history and how pilgrims and others suffered in the early times of our country. Now, while we are so concerned about a virus, it would do us all good to remember that when our country was settled, there were no vaccines for smallpox, diphtheria, polio, tuberculosis, measles, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus, etc. All food had to be grown or found in the forest. Many pilgrims starved or died from disease.
Another way to teach thankfulness is to have children earn some of their belongings. We all appreciate more the things we are invested in. Some parents give teens an allowance and require them to budget and plan for their own wardrobe. It is surprising how unimportant some of the name brands become when they find they can buy something similar for much less money. We did this with our children when they were teens. At the time Izod was very popular. Our daughter was so proud when she came home from the mall with three tops for what she would have paid for one Izod shirt.
Children need to be taught at an early age to say “Thank you” whether they really mean it or not to get them thinking about what it means to be thankful. As we can, however, we need to help them to be truly thankful for the things they have. This should be more than just the material things mentioned, but also the love of family and God.
It is not enough to simply tell children to be thankful. Parents need to be creative in finding ways to help them be truly thankful for the love they have, the country they live in, and the God who watches over them and provides for them. Without God, we would have nothing!