Gratitude

My four year old woke up on Thanksgiving morning whining. At breakfast he demanded cereal. He did not say thank you.
For the most part, I have taught my son to say please and thank you. He often is very respectful. However, like his father, he is NOT a morning person!
Furthermore, four years olds are selfish by nature.
Nevertheless, on this day of giving thanks, his attitude did not go over well with me. I paced the kitchen worrying about his lack of gratitude.
"How do we teach our boy gratitude?" I asked his father.
"Hardship," he answered. "It is always the children who have nothing who are grateful."
Of course I don't wish my son to struggle through times hardship. What mother would wish hardship upon her children? I think seeing other's hardship would have a similar effect, but Zane is not old enough to volunteer in a soup kitchen with me yet.
So I took a different approach. We made a list for 20 things we are thankful for. It included my logical answers like food, family, and a home as well as his four year old "thank you to" gummy bear vitamins, rainbow colored slinky, and best friend June.
The morning after Thanksgiving we talked about gratitude with breakfast. We thanked the apple trees for fruit juice, cows for milk, the pigs for ham, and our very own hens for the eggs. Then we added to our list. Perhaps we will add a few more every morning throughout the Christmas season. I think it is a good start. Maybe you want to try this too? Share if you do!