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Studies have shown that gratitude is good for you. It can make you happier, healthier, and more able to deal with adversity. It even strengthens the relationships around you. As parents, we especially want our children to be grateful. Gratitude is the antidote to entitled or rude kids, right? But how can we instill gratitude in our children without it being a burden? Is Thanksgiving just a one-time-a-year opportunity or can we take its lessons into the coming days and months? Here are a few ways to make gratitude a year-long practice.

Model It

Kids mimic their parents, for better or for worse. Before you try to compel your kids to show gratitude, make sure you are doing it first. Saying thank you to the adults around you is a start, but don’t forget to say thank you to your littles too! The more specific the better: “thank you for cleaning up all your toys! It looks great in here and now we can walk around more easily” or “Thank you for the wonderful artwork. All the different colors make me smile” are great examples. If you say what exactly you are grateful for, its emotional impact, and the physical effect of their actions, you will impact the recipient of the thanks and your own mood, too!

Try a Gratitude Journal

For a more personal practice, encourage your family to keep individual gratitude journals. They don’t have to include long, flowery descriptions of your blessings, but even a quick list has been shown to be good for your health. Recent studies have shown that teens keeping a gratitude journal became less materialistic, more generous, and even healthier eaters. Your family can decide how each person wants to do it - picking one thing and going deep into why you’re grateful for it, or picking 3-5 things and including less detail. This would be a great way to either start or end your day.

Keep a Gratitude Jar

For a more communal activity, you could start a family gratitude jar. Place a jar in a well-trafficked area (decorating the jar could be a fun family activity as well!) and place some paper nearby. Whenever anyone’s feeling thankful, whether it’s for a family member or something else, they can write down a little note and place it into the gratitude jar. Then once a year, either on Thanksgiving or New Year’s Eve, you can read out the things that everyone was thankful for over the course of the year! It’s a great way to be grateful in the moment and also to reflect later.

These are just a few ways that your family could practice gratitude all year long. There are many more, such as writing thank you notes for gifts big and small, and helping out in the community. You can decide what works for your family, but whatever you choose, you can be sure the benefits are worth the effort. What’s your favorite way to show gratitude?

Sunscreen: If you can’t minimize the length of time your children spend out in the sun, then invest in sunscreen with an SPF-30 or higher that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. This is best for children 6 months and older. Make sure you apply it to all areas of your child’s body. Even if it’s cloudy, keep applying the sunscreen every two hours.

Clothing: It is important that your child wears sun-protective clothing (UPF). Make sure their clothing covers most of the body and shades the face. You could also find them hats which provide shade for both the face, ears, and back of the neck.

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