Teaching kids gratitude works best when you start weeks before the gifts show up, not in the moment Grandma hands over a sweater and the whole room holds its breath. Model it out loud, ask a few good questions, and give your kids a real way to say thanks. Then repeat it until it’s boring. My two boys are grown now, or close to it. I’ve had years to see which gratitude lessons stuck, and which ones just produced a mumbled “thanks” at somebody’s front door. Growing up, I always