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Twice now, we have attended a kids birthday party and left the party with a pre-written thank you note in hand. The note says something like, "thank you for coming to my birthday party." It has, obviously, no mention of a gift, because it was written before the party -- before they knew what gift they received. Before they could even tell us why they enjoyed the gift or how much they enjoyed the gift.
I just have to say I hope this is not a new tradition. I think there is a huge amount of value in teaching children it is important to sincerely say "thank you" when you receive a gift.
The reason we have a birthday party is to celebrate another year of life, which is truly something to be grateful for. We give gifts to each other to show our love for each other. I think those gifts deserve thank you's.
I know times are changing and people are busier than ever before, but I think we still need to be teaching our children the value and importance of properly thanking people for their generosity. What do you think? Please post your comments below.
I completely agree with you. I see too many children who feel a sense of entitlement. Writing personal and thoughtful thank-you notes is a good way to reinforce gratitude. I have a friend whose 6-year-old nephew hand wrote thank-yous for Christmas. How awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, Tina. To me, there is no point in saying Thank You, unless it is sincere and honest. Writing thank you cards ahead of time is an empty gesture to me. I know the feeling I get when I receive a Thank You letter, a get well card, a thinking of you card in the US Mail (not email!), and I want nothing more than to return that wonderful feeling to someone else! I will definitely be teaching my children the value of handwritten notes and genuine thank yous!
ReplyDeleteWe all hand write thank you notes in our house. I keep a list on our dry erase board of people we each need to thank so we don't forget. Sometimes it takes a while to get to all of them, but they kids can erase them one by one when they get them finished. We feel a personal handwritten note is VERY valuable! It makes someone feel appreciated to get them!
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