The Little Rock Family team reached out to the staff at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock to get some insight on how to grow your kids’ attitude of gratitude — especially during the holiday season. We couldn’t be more thankful for Pastor Brian Dollar and his thoughtful answers. 

LRF: First, tell us a little about yourself. 

My name is Brian Dollar. I am the Associate Pastor at First Assembly of God in North Little Rock, Arkansas. I have served on staff at First NLR for 21 years, the majority of that time in the role of Kids Pastor. My wife, Cherith, and I have been married for 22 years. We have one daughter, Ashton, and one son, Jordan. I have authored two books, “I Blew It!” and “Talk Now And Later: How to Lead Kids Through Life’s Tough Topics.”

LRF: What does gratitude mean to you? Why is it important to teach our kids? 

Gratitude is a mindset. The Bible teaches in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father...” God has blessed us with so many gifts that we often take for granted. We should be thankful for the gifts God has blessed us with. Some of those gifts are family, friends, talents, clothing, a place to live, etc.  

Gratitude starts in the heart. It begins by the way you feel! If you feel like you deserve all the best stuff and that everybody owes you — it’s time for an “attitude checkup.” That means your attitude is not gratitude.

It’s important to teach kids that they need to not only feel gratitude for the things they have in their lives, but they need to express that gratitude. It’s not enough just to feel thankful, we must express it. We must thank God, our family, our friends and the people around us that do so much for our lives.

LRF: What are some holiday activities you recommend that can help parents teach kids gratitude?

One thing that we did with our kids when they were young was create a Prayer Chain. We took strips of construction paper and passed several of them out to each member of the family. We had the kids think of people they were thankful for. Then, they wrote one person’s name on each strip of paper. We took the strips of paper and glued them in circles together to create a long paper chain. We hung it on our fireplace mantle. Each night, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we took one link off the Prayer Chain. We read the name of the person written on the piece of paper, then prayed for that person, thanking God for bringing them into our lives.   

LRF: What about activities you can do together all year long?

There’s an old song that says, “Count your many blessings, name them one-by-one.” This is something you can do with your children all throughout the year, not just at Thanksgiving. On road trips in the car, sitting in the living room or outside in the backyard – take a moment to allow each member of the family to name one thing they are thankful for that day.

LRF: What is a good age to start teaching kids about gratitude? What are some activities that are good for younger kids? How about as they grow? 

Children should begin learning about gratitude from infancy. Reminding them to say, “Thank you” to those who help them or give them gifts is an easy way to start when they are young. Once they can write, it is a good idea to have them write “Thank You” cards to those who have blessed them. Sometimes it is good to write a card for no reason – just to tell someone how thankful you are they are in your life.

LRF: Do you have any other tips for raising grateful kids? 

The best way to raise grateful kids is to model it for them. If their parents are grateful, the kids tend to be grateful. Kids will learn more by what you do than what you say. Model the behavior and attitudes you want your children to adopt. Keep an attitude of gratitude all year long!