Positive psychology is a newer branch that is gaining popularity and fast trends. This is because positive psychology focuses less on what is going wrong in your life and more on improving your well-being and quality of life.
Focusing on positive psychology and our parenting journey can benefit us and our children. Positive psychology has many benefits in your own life that can also benefit your children and your whole life.
Positive Psychology Techniques to Use in Parenting
Many positive psychology techniques can be used in parenting. For a more extensive list, you can read here. But for this post, I want to focus just on one specific technique: gratitude.
Positive psychology has several different branches of techniques. There are areas for focusing on strength, gratitude, forgiveness, and more.
Can Positive Psychology be Used in Parenting?
Positive psychology can be used in parenting. This is a great way to focus your energy on creating a more positive home for you and your family. He can increase your flashing and well-being. I can also increase your joy and happiness as a mother.
Benefits of Using Positive Psychology in Parenting
- Positive psychology creates satisfying relationships
- Encourages gratitude
- Shows that we can take control of our lives
- er sense of well-being
- Increased resilience
- Ability to notice
- Better sleep
- More positivity in your life
- Flourishing
- Increase the ability of strength
Gratitude Techniques
Using gratitude techniques in your and your child’s life can foster several benefits of positive psychology. These techniques help refocus your mind on what truly matters in life. Several gratitude activities to add to your parenting are listed below.
Gratitude Journal
When we focus on gratitude, we can teach our children how to look outside ourselves and see what we have to be thankful for in life. One easy way to do it.
This is to start a gratitude journal with them. This is so simple. All you need is a journal, and every day, write down one or two things that you are grateful for
Gratitude Visit
A gratitude visit can be very meaningful. To do so, think about somebody who has contributed significantly to your life. It could be a grandparent who had a considerable influence or a teacher who taught you how to excel in something you enjoy; there are so many opportunities to show gratitude to those we love.
Write this person a letter and then visit them. While you’re visiting them, read the letter out loud to them. Doing so can mean a lot to the person you are showing gratitude to, but it also helps humble us to the point where we can start showing gratitude more frequently. This is a great skill to teach our children. Have your child think of somebody to do a gratitude visit.
Create a Gratitude Jar with your Child
A gratitude jar is very simple to make. Find a jar you are not using, or buy one from the store and paint it however you want. You can even write a gratitude jar on it with paint markers or paint. Every day, when you come home, write one specific thing you were grateful for or more and put it in the gratitude journal.
At the end of the year, put all your paper out and read it aloud. You may be surprised at what happened throughout the year and can be grateful for it.
Gratitude Rocks
Gratitude and rocks are another great activity to do with your child. Similar to the gratitude jar except in rock form. Paint your rocks with paint and let them dry. Then, write something that you are grateful for on each rock. They can be one word or more, such as love, beauty, my family, God, etc.
You can leave the rocks around your yard or take them out into town and leave them everywhere for other people to see. This is a great way to spread joy and encourage gratitude in your local community.
Gratitude Prompts
Gratitude prompts are super easy to make. You could even find some online to print off a gratitude. The prompt is the beginning of a sentence that allows you and your child to think deeply about what you were grateful for. Some examples of a gratitude prompt are:
- Who is one person you are grateful for and your family, and why?
- What is one beautiful thing in nature that you are grateful for?
- What made you happy today?
- Why are you grateful for your teacher?
- What is something that happened today on the playground that made you thankful?
- What ability are you grateful for today?
Gratitude prompts can help you dig deep and think about things we sometimes take for granted.
Gratitude Flower
This is a fun craft that you can make with your child. To create your flower, circle on construction paper and draw 10 to 12 petals.
After you cut them out, have your child write down one thing they are grateful for.
Then, put your flowers together. Hang your flower to remind yourself every day of what you are grateful for.
Mental Subtraction
Mental subtraction is a fascinating and beneficial exercise for yourself and your children. It is so simple but effective. Think about one thing that has happened, and then think about your life if it had never happened. For example,
I would never have met my husband if I had never gone to college two states away. Then, I would not have the beautiful children that I have now. This is a great exercise that can help remind us of the events that have happened in life.
I have told us where we are and why we are grateful for them. Another way to do this exercise. If you think about your ability and what your life would be like if you did not have that ability, such as being able to see or walk.
Nature Walk
Nature walking is beneficial in many ways. It gets you thinking about your life and helps you slow down by going on a walk. You can do this by yourself or with your family. While you are on this walk, consider your life, what makes it unique, and what you were grateful for.
Teaching your child to do that is beneficial because it gets them out in nature, gives them some exercise, clears their mind, and helps them focus on the positives of life.
Gratitude Tree
A gratitude tree is similar to a gratitude flour. The only difference is you create a tree instead of a flower. Hang your tree up in your home and add to it whenever you like it. This is a great exercise during Thanksgiving but can also be done throughout the year.
Thankful Paper Chain
A thankful paper chain is so easy to make. Cut out 20 to 30 paper strips. Make it as colorful or as plain as you would like. Have your child write down something they are grateful for on each strip. Connect the strips to make a paper chain. You can even add to your thankful paper chain each day and watch it grow.
Gratitude Box
A gratitude box is a special box you create and put in something you are grateful for daily. Have your child decorate their special box in any way they want. Then, write on a piece of paper something they are grateful for that day. This is a wonderful craft to keep you around and add to every day or every week. At the end of the year, pull out your gratitude box and read everything that happened to you throughout the year that you were grateful for
Highs and Lows
This is an activity that we do every night in our home. We go around the table during dinner, and each person says one thing they were grateful for, which was their high, and one thing that happened that was bad or sad or that they weren’t very happy about, which was their low.
This is a great way to share with each other and also stretches the mind when you feel like nothing has happened that day.
3 Things
Three things are an excellent exercise for adults and children. Every day, I think about or write down three good things that happened to me. You could do this in addition to highs and lows, or you could write them down in your gratitude journal.
You may want to focus on things that were kind that people did, or positive things that happened in your day, or you can even focus on three funny things that made you laugh. Whatever it is, it helps train your mind to focus on the positives that happened to you.
Benefits of Practicing Gratitude
There are many benefits of practicing gratitude.
- It allows you to appreciate relationships deeper
- Enhances empathy
- Improves your psychological health
- Improves your sleep
- Increases our self-esteem
- Enhances positive emotion
- Makes you friendlier
How Gratitude Creates a More Positive Home
With all these benefits, I can help you create a more peaceful home when you practice gratitude. That is because it opens your eyes to simple things you may miss otherwise. It helps encourage positive emotions in your home, which benefits you and your children. It encourages deeper relationships with your children and allows you to get to know them better and deeper.
Gratitude is a wonderful way to enhance your positive parenting style. You can use one or more of these techniques on this list to encourage gratitude in your house. Doing so well will encourage positive and peaceful habits in your home, leading to a more positive and peaceful relationship with your family.
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