Show your child to express gratitude by sending thank-you notes.
Did your child just receive a gift? This is an opportune time to teach your child how to write thank-you notes. Teaching your child to express gratitude is important ? teaching children to send thank-you notes will be appreciates for generations to come.
When to Begin Teaching Children to Send Thank-You Notes
Children under six years of age could be encouraged to draw a picture to show their gratitude. They can tell one of their parents what they are most thankful for and the parent can write the note for them. When a child becomes about six, they should be encouraged to write their own thank-you notes.
~
How to Create the Thank-You Note
Teaching your children to write thank-you notes is fairly simple. Begin by giving them stationary. Children will respond positively if they are given special materials just for this project. This makes it feel like an important project. Ask your child what they like the most about the gift or what they enjoyed most about their visit to the person’s home. Help them craft this into a short note. A thank-you note is typically two to three short paragraphs.
Developing a Thoughtful Thank-You Note
Some children may need to be encouraged to think about what to say if they receive a gift that they do not like or if they did not enjoy their visit. A thank-you note should be polite, but should not lie. Ask your child to think about one or two things that they may have enjoyed about their visit. Maybe they enjoyed the fact that the gift-giver thought of them and came to their birthday party.
By teaching your child to send out thank-you notes, you are teaching them excellent manners. Someone with excellent manners is more likely to be invited places and have more opportunities than others.