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.patlambchristianauthor.com
Raising children….
Something’s Missing!
The Backpack Ministry is a good thing, especially now with prices on so many things continually rising. Many children would be starting back to school without the tools they need for learning. However, it seems that something may be missing!
It is common to hear adults talk about how today’s children seem so ungrateful for the things they get or have. “Why I can remember in the old days that we were lucky to have shoes to wear when we went to school! We sure didn’t have all the fancy stuff kids these days have!” True. It was sad to see broken pencils on the floor of classrooms when I was teaching GED classes. It was obvious that someone didn’t appreciate those pencils! They had deliberately broken them in half and thrown them on the floor!
What’s missing? The attitude of gratitude. At a recent meeting I attended, the backpack ministry was mentioned. “Do any of you know of anyone receiving a “thank you” note from a recipient of a backpack?” I asked. Blank looks all around! No one had. Aren’t we missing an opportunity to teach children to be grateful when we don’t require them to write a thank you note?
Perhaps an addressed blank note could be included in the backpacks. Parents and/or teachers could require the children to write a note of thanks to the giver. This could go a long way in teaching gratitude and is also a good writing lesson for the children. Children who have not yet learned to write could draw a picture and have someone else write the words “thank you”.
It would seem we miss many opportunities to teach children to be grateful. My husband and I started years ago giving our grandchildren $5 for each “A” they made on their report card and $4 for each “B”. Nothing was given for “C’s” because that is expected of them and is nothing special. At the end of the grading period, we saw a copy of their report cards and tallied up what they had earned. We also gave money for high marks in conduct. After all, good conduct is necessary for success in life. The children gain pride in earning money and feel they have a job like their folks have. It was understood that part of the money was for pleasure and part to save for future education. We always received “thank you’s” from the children for the checks we sent. Now that my husband has passed away, I continue the practice. I don’t shower them with constant gifts. They can learn to budget their own money for the things they really want or feel they need.
Why are we surprised that so many children do not feel gratitude for what they receive when we don’t require them to do such a simple thing as to say, “thank you”?