Today I am sharing with you some tips I have learned about raising grateful children. Along with these tips are some pearls of wisdom from my parents, my husband's parents and some of our mentors. I am no where near perfect in this, we are all learning and improving together!
Hi Natalie! Enjoyed everything about this video! I️ have two little ones and I️ also try to teach them the importance of saying thank you. Appreciate your tips as well.
"I am no where near perfect in this,we're all learning and improving together." AMEN SISTER! See I'm 15 so I don't have kids 😂 but I DO have nephews so this is very important for me to be the best for them!! Also... the throwbacks are sooo emotional ❤
MJ B Aunties can be so instrumental in being an example to those little ones! Man, if you're watching videos like this at 15, you're gonna be a fanatic Mom one day! 😁
This is the best video I have ever seen. As a mom of a 3 year old girl and 6 month baby boy this helped a lot. As a family of faith and a christian family we want to raise these kids to, as well, be grateful and make a positive impact in the world. I also have been noticing that when I have a negative attitude or bad mood, my daughter mimics it and sometimes gives me the same attitude or behavior so now I know that it's my responsibility to show them the proper way to behave and be grateful and graceful. I couldn't agree more on everything you mentioned in this video. As a friend, subscriber and sister in christ I want to tell you that you are an amazing mother. You are both great parents. Keep up the great work. God bless you all!
I absolutely love this. I’m only seventeen and not anywhere close to having my own children, so I’m saving this video for future reference. You and your husband are amazing parents.
I actually just realized the last week what difference it makes in me, when I say Thank you, even for the smallest thing. Thank you for that wonderful video!
I so agree! Especially with not getting treats at the store, we never ever did that as a child, and we don’t do it for my children at all, they never expect it, so when they do get somthing it’s an even bigger blessing to them.
Hi, Natalie. 1st time mommy here, of a 7 month old baby girl. Thank you so much for always saying exactly what I need to hear. This video was so informative. Sometimes we forget to say thank you, even as adults, and we just need the reminder that we always need to be polite and grateful. Maybe that's what this world is missing. We've forgotten basic politeness. Anyway, I would love it if you could possibly talk about how you implemented good habits with young babies, beneath the age of 1. I'm having a difficult time with just the disciplinary stuff, or lack thereof possibly. I'm just kinda clueless when it comes to that. Thank you!
I'm not an angel but my parents did raise my sister and I to not complain, expecially during Christmas time. They told us, "Even if we don't like the gift we got, we needed to just smile and say thank you!" But with my parents having us at such a young age, we didn't have alot of nice things. So when we did get new things, I would be excited. I'm just glad I had both my parents around when we were growing up. When it came to saying, "Please and Thank You" I didn't always say it growing up. I was also terrible at giving eye contact with people in general. So when I started to say thank you more often, I wouldn't look anyone in the eyes. I didn't realize what I was doing and that not giving anyone eye contact was rude. So when a teacher in middle school pulled me aside and told me I need to look into people's eye when I spoke to them, it was more of a wake up call because it's not that my parents never told me to look at them when they or I was speaking, but because I always had difficulties with eye contact.
Why did the teacher assumed you were rude? What if you were shy or had some sort of a social anxiety disorder? I don't think it was right of him/her to say that to you without talking to your parents first
Hi Natalie! Love listening to your sit downs while being a busy bee at work. You truly have a knack for speaking to people. Although we are the same age, I truly look up to you as a mother and wife! I strive to be the patient, understanding mama that you are. I am grateful for YOU and your advice. Keep up the good work, all the blessings to you and yours, always!
I love when I give my 18 month old baby something she always says thank you. Even in her sweet little baby words you understand she said thank you. I find a simple thank you goes very far!!!
I'm a muslim and I totaly agree with you and admmire you! You are great and your children will reflect that! I am really looking up to you :) Thank you for the work you do ❤
Hi Natalie, I agree with you. You have great tips for all moms and everyone in general. I want you to make a video answering this below question if possible “why do we need kids?” I know many people have talked about being ready or not ready for baby but no one ever talk about why in first place we all need kids. How do they add meaning to our lives? Can you please please take time and answer this question. Love hugs to u and your kids
Thank you for sharing your insight into how are raising your children and teaching them how to be thankful and happy with what they have. I feel inspired to be more thankful and happy with everything that I do have and being able to watch encouraging people like you and your vlogs is very helpful to me. I love when people share how they think and are kind and patient while talking about how they handle situations. I feel like we are all here no matter how old we are to learn from each other and that makes for a Happy world.
Love this ☺️ Thanks for all the tips. My boy is almost 1 and I’m trying to collect ideas and things for raising him grateful and to be a man of character.
You are amazing. I love how wholesome you are. We had similar upbringings but there were definitely some flaws. I aspire to be a mother like you and teach my children to be kind and loving and grateful like you have taught yours 😍
Hi Natalie, what do u think about teaching yr children compassion and kindness for all living things. I just watched some eye opening you tube videos about what Turkeys go thru to end up dead in the middle of a Thanksgiving table. It's absolutely horrific how they are forcibly bred and kept in cages and killed in wat looks like hell on earth! You could look it up too and see the truth about wat happens to these beautiful large birds. I wouldn't want to have anything do to with that kind of cruelty and especially not be responsible for conditioning my children to ignore another living beings suffering for merely tradition or their own self gratification. We don't need to be the cause of another living creatures pain and suffering. We can teach our children kindness and compassion, gratitude and respect. We lead by example. We can teach our children to be fully conscious of their choices.
Great video Natalie. I'm very big about teaching my step children to always be thankful. I've been inspired this Thanksgiving to give a Thanksgiving dinner box to a family in need. I want to not only set an example for my children, but I want to be an example for everyone around me as well. Thank you for this video. ❤
This video is such a blessing. A good reminder to me as a mom raising my twin boys and baby girl on the way (same as you😊) but also for myself. Thank you for always giving glory to God and for being a blessing to me❤️
This is a fantastic video!!! Thank you so much for making this. Such fantastic advice. I love that you guys are implementing these things when you're kids may seem too young, but they are learning and picking things up long before we may think they are so it's so important to start young.
I love this video so much. We do alot of these things without thinking about it, but making a conscious effort to raise grateful kids will give us a future generation that is more conpassionate and less selfish 😊
Great advice! Growing up, my family always went around the table and said what we were thankful for before we ate and I think that is an important lesson to teach children.
As a new mom to be, these are great tips! Also, I love how you talk about your faith but also discuss how things can be applied if you're not religious! Its very much appreciated. :)
Thank you for those principles. My mum taught me gratitude and I feel it's benefitted me so much as an adult. I hope I can teach my child as well as she taught me
Loved this video!! So important to set the example in all things as parents!! I see so much my attitude in my children and it's a constant reminder I have to work on me as well as them. Daily going back to the basics. I'm so thankful for the grace we have been given. Imperfect person raising imperfect ppl. Always striving for better!!
This was really nice. I appreciate that you mentioned and understood that we are not all from the same backgrounds/faiths, but we can all share and implement common values and goals. I've been watching for a long time, and this really made me feel that you care and understand your audience. Much love from KCMO!
This is such a great/ encouraging video! Im struggling with keeping my kids in the grateful/ excited holiday spirit because my mil buys them new things 2+ times a week so it's hard for them to appreciate or get excited about something new or Christmas/ birthdays to be exact.
Loved the video!! Would you consider making a video about traveling with an infant? I'll have a two month old and I'll be flying from Alaska to Louisiana and I would love to hear any advice or tips you may have to make it a little easier
I love this video....yes these little sponges soak up what the see and hear. If we try and be the very best we can be as parents, then our children will reflect our efforts.
I am born agan too. And my dad is a pastor, so i have grown up with the same understanding of why we need to be grateful. I and my dad whent to Hadi and saw the people, and toled us what he witnessed. And ther have been so many times where we did not have much to be gratful for, but we still were becuse we had faith that the Lord would porvide. Some times we would get a lot of presents, and some years we got like 2 expensive thing. So i think part of it is you have to have nothing inorder to understand that we have everything we need.
New to your channel and love this video! We have a 3 year old and a 19 month old. I can totally relate to our 3 year old picking up on how we are feeling or speaking. Such a great reminder!
Really great content Natalie .......I love all your videos on pregnancy or hauls .......they are so rich and worth watching !!!!!!! I am 25 weeks pregnant and have been following you since month one and experiencing almost same symptoms as you did and they are so informative and I also admire your work and contribution towards your family which is so amazing that I am able to learn so many things from your videos!!!! Keep going Audience is always with you......you are blessed with a lovely and caring family .....god bless!!!!!!!!!
Hey natalie! I am 13 weeks pregnant. I had a horrible cranky day yesterday (harmones!!!!!) And this video is such a booster fr me to really focus on what's important in life!! Keep doing the great work!!!! Love from india!!!
You and your family are absolutely wonderful!! I've been watching your channel for a very long time and I also have a family of my own. I have a four month old little girl named Luna and your little girl Hailey is a beauty for sure! I may not be religious but you're making me feel more open and understanding to others beliefs lately. I've been thinking about starting my own channel but I seem to need advice. My life isn't super glamorous or anything but I feel like I have a lot to say that could be helpful for some people. I may not be religious but you're making me feel more open and understanding to other people's beliefs. We should all be allowed to express how we feel and not be judged for that. Anyways, thank you for helping me during my pregnancy and other areas of my life! I wish love and happiness to you and your family!
Such an amazing video!! Im due to give birth any day now to my little girl and i will absolutely implement your tips in raising my little girl to be grateful!!
Thank you Natalie. As a teacher and a new mom I really believe in being grateful for everything I have. Would you consider doing a collab with the British youtuber Emilly Norris? She is also a mom of 3 and so lovely and positive. I think you two will have a lot in common.
Great Video Natalie.....I think that we all take things for granted at times.....and we DO need a soft reminder, which you did very well. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from Canada.💕
What a beautiful video ❤️ can you do a video on parenting toddlers, specially during the terrible twos ? I love how you parent and I definitely need some tips ❤️
Thank you for this video it really helps a lot we are two mommies to be and we are so excited via watching your videos and I feel good about this thank you again
My husband left us near Thanksgiving. I am a Christian and thought he was too. My baby is 6 months old. I hope that I can raise baby girl to be grateful.
What a great video! Thanks for the great ideas! I don’t know how I got confused, I though Jim and Theresa were Weston’s parents? Oops! You learn something new every day!
being raised in a religious home in seattle as well, i would advise that while your points are good, that they are not complete without acknowledging a person's humanity. we are emotional human beings and if you do not always FEEL grateful for something, or you dont feel generous to give something, that feeling is ok and should be respected. God is multi-dimensional, and while it does say that he is love, it also mentions that he gets angry, has regret, and gets sad. and those feelings are ok too. it's important to validate them, but not dwell on them, and do not rush someone to do or say something that would be insincere/disingenuous for them personally. it creates a rift between the mind, will, and emotions and only enables the person to parrot what is expected of them instead of validating their whole self, which cuts them off from participating and enjoying life altogether (i'm speaking from experience). something i have seen (and done) is that if your child does have a breakdown of some sorts, to sit with them while they learn to manage (and healthily express) their emotions. sometimes this means you have to leave the store and sit in the car and that's ok. you are being a good parent by helping your child process through what they feel instead of expecting mindless compliance. obviously, this takes patience, but since "love is patient (remaining unchanging regardless of circumstance)", your child will be free to come to you to healthily express themselves even if you disagree with their perspective or decision because you have taken the time to understand and respect that their process of a particular situation will be different than your own. my premise for this? Hosea 4:6 "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" - it doesn't only pertain to biblical information, but information as a whole. kind regards ~
this includes "setting a good example". i felt like i had been lied to when the people i looked up to only did something to "set a good example" for me when in their hearts they were insincere. i prefer to not be lied to or deceived about a way a person feels. i believe an honest response is better than what the textbook says is the "best" response.
LOVE this topic, Natalie! As fellow parents, we are definitely on the same page as you. :) In fact, my husband and I were laughing about how our "terrible two"-year-old always says "thank you" of her own accord, even if it is between meltdowns. ;)
Melody Yang using it in your daily language as well as showing the motion with your mouth,they may vary from the actual motion themselves when they first start out, it makes life just a little easier when they are easier to communicate
I appreciate the valuable content - Gratitude is so important, especially in a parenting context! I discuss gratitude in the last video on my channel as well. I truly hope videos like ours inspire other parents/people out there to contemplate how to foster gratitude. Thanks again.
Trust me. Once they hit puberty, they coincidently forget all they e learned manner wise. It’s kind of sad because they sort of become different than they were. Growing up yes. I was sad at that transition because it was then that they grew into a different person. Enjoy them as little kiddies while you can. Woohoo!
I think even if their outward actions show that they are ungrateful, as long as you continue to plant those seeds of gratefulness and set a good example in the home, they will return to it when they grow up and mature. I think there is a stage when a kid goes from teenager to "the real world" when they have to start paying their own bills and washing their own dishes that they start to appreciate what they had at home all those years. At least, that's true for me!
Trust me, that’s not true! Puberty is not an excuse for manners and gratitude to go out the window! I have 2 adult children, 1 teenager, 2 preteens and a toddler, yes I have 6 children in all stages and they were and are never allowed to be disrespectful and ungrateful! Period!
Kelley Almond Yeah but just because a teenager goes through a phase of being ungrateful, it doesn't mean they're doomed for a life of ungratefulness. You just continue to let them know the expectation in your own house and discipline appropriately. You can be the perfect parent and still have children that choose to be ungrateful.
Never claimed to be the perfect parent. When my children are out of my house their actions are on them but regardless, they will show respect and gratitude no matter what stage they are in. In the instance where there is disobedience, there most certainly is consequences.
