Most adolescents are not known for their thankful spirit. But, now is the time to inspire it.

The rapid brain development happening during their adolescent years is when you can make a difference in how they will think as a young adult. Adolescence is the doorway into a new more mature way to look at life and the people who matter to you.

Just consider for a moment how someone could learn about thankfulness. This is one of the feelings that is best learned by experiencing it for yourself. You reach out to help someone, and they express their appreciation with a warm response of thankfulness. It feels good.

Another way to learn about thankfulness is what you feel when someone expresses the many ways they are thankful for you. Although maybe a little embarrassing, it feels good.

Here are three simple ways to help your adolescent feel the pleasantness of a thankful spirit.

1. When your child does even a very small task for you, express your thankfulness. No matter how small their effort might be, even though it took convincing to get them to do the task, express your thankfulness.
2. Leave little notes that let them know what you appreciate about them in different ways. Keep it to just a few words, they don’t always like a lot of details.
3. Let them see you express thankfulness in all types of situations and with a variety of people. Simple expressions will have the greatest impact. Adolescents are usually not peeking outside their world too often, so expressing thankfulness in everyday situations will have the greatest impact.

It will take a little extra focus on your part to inspire thankfulness in your adolescent, but a thankful spirt in a young adult is a gift.