The Attitude Behind “Thanks”

As parents we teach our young children to say “Thank you” when someone gives them something.  We call “Thank You” and “Please” magic words.  Children learn to use these words more and more naturally, and parents discover they don’t need to remind them any more with the question, “What do you say?”

I am wondering if in teaching children to use the words we somehow gloss over the purpose behind the “Thank you.”  A “Thank you” that is not genuine, with the real feeling of gratitude to back it up, is just “jibber jabber” as Penny tells Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory.  Teaching children to be grateful is really the work to be done, and the best way to do that is to demonstrate gratitude yourself.  The words are simply the expression of the feeling, and the feeling comes from a deep sense of appreciation and being grateful for the blessings and good fortune you experience.  A “Thank you” says you understand the other person made a choice to do something nice for you rather than simply focus on their own self-interest. 

Gratitude is found when you realize your good fortune—for the simple things, for the unexpected, for the acts of kindness, for the many things people do for you each and every day.  Please join C4K in expressing our sincere “Thank You” to the role models and mentors who work with other people’s children every day in the afterschool space.