A Tree of Thanks...

I think it is very important for our children to learn to be thankful for everything they have. Children often think of things they have as being toys, books, games and things that they can touch rather than the more important things that are there but they can't see.

A great way to help children visualize things they are thankful for is to make A Tree of Thanks!

Every night at dinner time we get out a new leaf and start to think of what are are thankful for either that day, or overall in our lives. My daughter is a bit young so her dad and I contribute most of the ideas. But when we are done writing we take her over to the tree and say "Thank You"and she looks at the tree puts the new leaf on and says "Thank You." With older children it will be a great way to start conversations are the dinner table to connect with each other.

Family dinner at the table, with all electronics turned off is so important. With all of lives activities of work, school, after school activities there are many reasons why family dinners are important part of healthy living. The two most important ones in my opinion are:

1.Children and adults each better when sitted at the table together

2. Creating an atmosphere around the dinner table where you are giving your full attention to your children allows them to feel like they are important and they will be more willing to share their ideas, thoughts, feelings and concerns with you.

If your schedule is really busy and your thinking I would love to do this but there just isn't enough time in the day, set some realistic goals for yourself. Maybe two times a week might it a priority to get together with the family, keep it simple kids don't care if its a four coarse meal or not. Most important make it enjoyable! Save the serious discussions for another time.

Even if you don't have kids this can be important time for you and your partner to connect. I know that I like doing the tree of thanks and family dinner with my husband because it gives us time to sit without distractions and tell each other about our days, about our thoughts and feelings and just to re-connect with each other!

What are you most thankful for in your life?