The holidays are almost over but there’s one item that is sometimes overlooked: saying thank you. Helping kids say thank you is an important social skill, not just for kindergarten readiness, but as a life skill. Practicing such social skills such as sharing, taking turns, and saying please and thank you in the family helps when kids join large social groups such as daycare, preschool, or kindergarten.
While I don’t agree with all of the advice given in this video, it’s nice to know that others think this is important too.
Helping children learn the strategy of saying thank you is like other learning, it needs real opportunities and practice. Usually, after Christmas there are several people that kids need to thank. And there are different ways to do that:
Your child may want to phone someone to tell them thank you.
Help your child print a note. It may be actual words or a page of lines and stickers.
Drawing a picture is another way of saying thank you.
Take a photo of your child with the gift to send along with the note.
Take a quick video of your child saying thank you. Skype or Facetime some 10 Qs.***
We want kids to be truthful and sometimes they receive gifts that are not well-liked. As in the video clip, kids can say something simple like thank you for thinking of them. Taking the time and making the effort to help kids say thank you gives our children the message that we think saying thank you is important. There is no doubt that kids learn from what we do. Does this give you some ways to help your child say thank you after Christmas?
P.S. ***10 Q is a short way to write Thank you, as in T’an (ten) kyou (Q). Now, is there a short way to write “You’re welcome”?