If you have been reading the news over the past few weeks you will have read about the disturbing rise in mental health and wellbeing issues with kids & teenagers... it's scary. Children and teenagers have increasing level of anxiety and stress, and lock down certainly isn't helping.
Being a parent is hard, I have felt out of control at times when my children have shut down and have refused to talk to me about an issue or something on their mind.. after all, as a parent all you want is for them to be happy!
7 years ago I became a Mum, and ever since then I have made it my responsibility to search for anything I can do to support my children's wellbeing to make sure they are well prepared to grow up and head out into the big wide world. One of the first tools I came across whilst on my search was the practice of daily gratitude.
The Science behind gratitude
There has been tons of research around the practice of gratitude and the long term affects it can have to make you feel more positive, and live a happier life.
I started practising gratitude myself a few years ago now. My husband Jesse was the first to start the practice in our household. At first I thought writing a gratitude list was a pretty pointless activity and didn't buy into the idea of it at all, but after a few gentle nudges I decided to join him. We started a husband/wife whatsapp group dedicated to our morning gratitude practice, where each morning (in our own time) we list 5-10 things we are thankful for.
I have to admit after a week of doing this exercise I definitely noticed a difference! Each morning I would find myself waking up feeling a little more positive, I seemed to sleep better, and I noticed that I stopped getting as frustrated with the little things that would arise throughout my day. Not only that, it actually had a noticeable affect on my relationship with my husband.. we found ourselves laughing more and communicating better. WIN!
Family Gratitude
After feeling, and seeing the changes we decided to make it a family ritual. At the time our little girl was only 3, and our son was 6. We decided to practice gratitude together before dinner, simply taking it in turns to share 3 things we were thankful for that day. At first my little girl would say funny things like 'I am grateful for mummy's lipstick' (she loves lipstick for some reason!), but as time went by, both of the kids started to really understand it, and now really enjoy it. In fact, they enjoy sharing gratitude so much, that they are the ones to remind us to do it!!
The Grati-tube
After seeing the impact that practising gratitude has had on my children and our family as a whole, I wondered if there was a way that I could encourage children and families to make it a daily habit in their own houses, a ritual that would happen no matter what.
So, I was inspired to invent the 'Grati-tube', a FUN way for kids and families to practice gratitude together.
The outside of the tube is designed to act as a colouring in activity, and the tube itself comes with 60 beautifully designed gratitude cards and a pen, so that you and your children can fill one in each day to share the things you are thankful for.
Once the tube is full, you can re-read all of your children's beautiful messages and have it as a memory box to keep forever. I hope you like it, and I really hope it helps to improve happiness and more in your household.
You can check out the Grati-tube for kids here, and there is also a teen version about to launch that you can check out here. If you know a young person going through a tough time, this is the perfect gift!
Liz xoxo
