When looking through suggestions for gratitude journals, I came across a children’s version. I was so impressed by it that I decided to share with you why I think you should get a gratitude journal for your child.
Last month I was surfing through a Facebook group, and someone said: “Can anyone recommend a good journal?” Well, being a bit of a journal fanatic (I like digital bullet journaling and still drool over people’s layouts on Pinterest and Instagram), I took a little nosey at the suggestions.
I’d not heard of any of them before, but some women said they’d gotten theirs from Aldi & Kmart (I didn’t know Aldi sold journals, did you?). The following were also mentioned:
Whilst this discussion continued, a lady called Rebecca Ernest said: “I created and sell these ones for kids 😉“. I had a look and was so impressed that I ordered one of her gratitude journals for children for my seven-year-old son, Elijah. I knew exactly how I wanted to use it with him and couldn’t wait for it to come. I wasn’t disappointed! In fact, we love it so much, I’ve ordered another one for my six-year-old grandson, Jayden.
By a stroke of luck, there’s a sale on the site until the end of the month, so if you fancy one you can get it with a whopping 20% off – not bad, eh?
I’ve known the benefits of gratitude journalling for years since The Secret came out. A wonderful cousin-friend of mine, Isola (I LOVE her name!) was kind enough to buy me a beautiful Secret Gratitude Journal a few years ago. It has a wrap around magnetic, protective cover on it and the pages are a lovely creamy-beige colour. I used to write in that with different fountain pens and different coloured inks too. Divine.
I mainly write in my digital journal now, which I sync with Evernote, but I still keep my hard copy gratitude journal next to my bed.
Knowing how beneficial it is for adults to acknowledge and make note of their gratitude, it honestly didn’t occur to me that there would be gratitude journals for children.
Just in case you were wondering what the benefits are of having a gratitude practice (whether silent or written in a journal), here are seven benefits as suggested by psychotherapist Amy Morin:
- Gratitude opens the door to more relationships
- Gratitude improves physical health
- Gratitude improves psychological health
- Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression
- Grateful people sleep better
- Gratitude improves self-esteem
- Gratitude increases mental strength
[click_to_tweet tweet=”With the seven life-improving benefits of having a gratitude practice, imagine the advantage of having such a practice from childhood. Xina Gooding Broderick ~ Mother of Abundance https://motherofabundance.com/get-a-gratitude-journal-for-your-child/” quote=”With the seven life-improving benefits of having a gratitude practice, imagine the advantage of having such a practice from childhood.” theme=”style1″]
7pm – Wind-Down Time
Elijah has wind-down time at 7pm each evening. The television is switched off and we either read, write, do some maths, play a board game, construct something together or he might just play with his toys. If he goes on his tablet, it’s to read a book or play an educational game but the tablet is switched off too by 7:20pm.
During wind-down time, Elijah writes in his gratitude journal. He really has to think about his day in a positive frame. He has to sift through his mind not only to think about all of the good things that have happened to him, but he has to select which out of all of them he should write about.
He puts stickers in his journal, he draws in it and he colours-in too. He really loves it and I liked that he can end his day on a positive note. I feel that with grateful thoughts, he’s less likely to have nightmares too. I love that keeping a daily written practice has all of these benefits, but from an academic perspective, he also gets to practice his handwriting and spellings too.
It’s a nice time for both of us because he tells me things that often haven’t been included in our conversation so far in the day; even though I always ask him how his day has been after school.
Does your child have a gratitude journal? If yes, I’d love to hear your thoughts on their practice. If you decide to get one for your child, don’t forget to come back and share with us how you both get on with it.
This post was inspired by the Happiness section of the 9 Steps to True Abundance Infographic. If you haven’t got your free copy of the infographic yet, just sign up below to get it.
