For some strange reason it is often more common to hear people complaining –about sports teams, politics, the weather or the traffic – rather than saying about all the fabulous things in their lives.

This is not only a bit odd, it is also actually bad for our health. In recent years there has been a range of research looking at ways in which people can flourish, or live their best life and it is shown that gratitude is strongly associated with wellbeing: those individuals that frequently feel grateful have higher levels of wellbeing. And not just being grateful for the large things in life, but also recognising the smaller things, and being grateful for these, is important.

Being grateful goes a lot further than just expressing thanks. Some people have the trait gratitude, meaning that they are born grateful and have a habit of noticing the good and feeling lucky as they frequently appraise their life/good fortune. Others are much more likely to have a ‘glass half empty’ attitude. Like anything else, gratitude can be taught, and can also be 'caught' from others around you that have a grateful attitude.

Some questions you can ask your children to support the development of gratitude in your children include:

● What are you grateful for today?

● What particular things happened that you feel really grateful for?

● What about outside at lunchtime; did anything happen that made you feel grateful? Anything anyone said, or something you saw?

Do this regularly to promote a habit of gratitude by getting them to notice what went well each day. 

If you would like to read more about the science of gratitude here is a link.