For those of us who worry that today’s children appear grateful for nothing and entitled to everything, and despite all that we do for them, grownups would do well to take note and take heart.
Researchers in the relatively new field of Gratitude Studies are finding that thankfulness can indeed be nurtured and taught. Furthermore, there appears to be plenty of compelling reasons to help a child along in the count-your-blessings department.
Gratitude researchers have found that being grateful isn’t just a nice personal quality that leads to good manners. It delivers a profound payoff. By being truly thankful for all that life provides, a child has more chance of being emotionally, physically, and socially successful.
One still-unpublished study, conducted by Dr. Jeffrey Froh of New York’s Hofstra University and Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, has found that when older children (ages 14 to 19) are able to acknowledge their good fortune, they’re more likely to be happy and experience lower levels of depression, envy and materialism. There also appears to be a connection between feeling grateful and having higher GPAs.
