As I get older, and since losing my dad, I continue to learn that gratitude should be a staple in our lives. It allows us to count our blessings and intentionally focus on the positive aspects, instead of all the things that aren’t going quite right. Mealtime is the perfect place for teaching and engaging in gratitude because it is a natural pause in our day between the hustle and bustle of life. Faith, food and family naturally intersect at the table as we reflect on what we are grateful for and give thanks, partake in deliciously healthy food that nourishes our body, and enjoy the overall experience with our family and friends.
Gratitude Begins with Example
Just like everything else that our toddlers mirror in our lives, modeling thankfulness as a parent is crucial. Not only does it show the children, what we love and appreciate most about our days, but it also shows them how to focus on their own blessings and reflect on their own positive experiences. It is important to use age-appropriate words of thanks at the table and with little ones, but keep in mind that words can be learned if we use them in meaningful ways. At our table, we take turns sharing what we are grateful for every night and although it may sound redundant, our kids have really gotten the hang of using “grateful” correctly. This always follows our mealtime blessing, which we take turns giving, then everyone takes a turn to think of SOMETHING to be grateful for. Seeing this practice in action every day shows our kids how to appreciate our blessings above our grief.
Making Prayer Simple and Toddler-Friendly
To create the most inclusive environment for your toddler, and to help them connect personally with the blessing, it is crucial to keep the prayer short and simple, encouraging your little one to repeat it as you share it or come up with their own when they are ready. Doing this at every meal, or even just at every dinner, creates a family tradition that will follow them through their adolescence into adulthood. It also serves as one dedicated time a day that they can talk to God and witness us, as their parents, commune as well. By making these blessings and conversations accessible to our kids, we are encouraging them to begin to thank God in their own words, as they find them. Beginning to learn prayer through gratitude and thankfulness feels like a natural bridge to talking to God about the harder things as our kids grow up.
Turning Mealtime into a Gratitude Ritual
In addition to our “thankful round” of discussion, we also have incorporated a Gratitude Jar on our table. This allows us, as a family, to write down the things that we are grateful for and keep them in a jar, painted and decorated by our toddler, to reflect back on in the days to come. We like to date our slips of paper and treat this activity as our own gratitude journal. When days feel heavy, or we struggle to find what we are grateful for, we reach into the jar and read a few slips from days past and appreciate again what we have been blessed with. We also celebrate all small acts of kindness at the dinner table, such as passing food, sharing what’s on our plate, kind words, etc.
Handling Toddler Challenges with Grace
When our little ones are not practicing acts of kindness, but rather are refusing food, complaining, arguing, or picking on each other, we stay committed to staying patient and calm and redirect the whole family back to our blessings. These moments seem like a natural time to discuss that gratitude is a choice, not just a feeling, and as we choose to focus on our gratitude consistently, we see positive outcomes consistently. Staying patient through times of learning and outbursts for kids helps them to regulate their own emotions and learn how to zero back in on what is going well instead of what is upsetting them. This grace allows both the children, and us as parents, to build habits over time that are productive and loving for all involved.
Faith Lessons that Last Beyond the Table
After dinner, and after the family has implemented these practices over time, it is seamless to carry gratitude into bedtime, playtime, and daily routines. Although it feels natural to begin at the table, it is a natural next step to connect mealtime thankfulness to God’s bigger blessings throughout each day. This becomes a beautiful foundation of faith through everyday practices. This foundation strengthens the family unit as a whole and brings us closer together.
Raising toddlers can be extremely challenging at times, and often overwhelming. Helping our children, and ourselves, to plant these small seeds of gratitude daily, allows for lifelong faith to grow within us. Take the pause at dinner time and enjoy every moment of experiencing faith, food and family together at once.
