Teaching our little ones regular gratitude practices helps with social/emotional development. Cultivating mindfulness at a young age facilitates learning about emotions, expressing emotions, and understanding that having a variety of feelings/emotions is OKAY! I have found that implementing a “child friendly gratitude practice” with preschool aged students increases enjoyment of our daily activities and learning.

Gratitude draws us into the present moment, allows us to find our  fearless, speak our minds, and can help little ones find confidence in social environments.

Living in gratitude reminds all of us that it’s important to slow down and  focus on the small moments of joy we can find throughout everyday. Being present in these moments can help us transition to think positively when things change or don’t turn out as we had hoped. 

Consistent gratitude expression is important. YES thinking about gratitude is still effective but not as effective as expressing gratitude. Research shows that writing out gratitudes can shift your focus away from negative feelings/thoughts. Research also suggests that regular gratitude journaling can make it harder for us to dwell on negative experiences. Studies show that individuals who regularly EXPRESS gratitude have higher activity in their medial prefrontal cortex of the brain which is associated with moral and social cognition, reward, empathy, and value judgement.