Category Archives: We Can Do This

Living In Gratitude

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Many Share The Joy readers have a similar commitment to living a life of purpose and self-improvement.  One central component towards living this type of lifestyle is gratitude, or practicing gratefulness.  Although gratitude is an easy concept to understand, it is not always easy to put into practice or to even ‘live’ every day.  Unfortunately many of you have days and moments where you ‘believe’ that the circumstances surrounding your day determines your mood or has you behaving poorly.  However, even in those misaligned moments there are always reasons for gratitude.

Gratitude is simply finding appreciation in your surroundings, showing kindness towards all things on Earth and taking time to express thanks.

Demonstrating gratitude while in the company of children helps a child learn to live in gratitude. It builds a firm foundation and is a life-skill that will carry them far beyond their wildest dreams.  More importantly, your child will go through life with great purpose stemming from gratitude rather than just existing as part of the ‘norm’.

family_gratitudeThink of all the things in your life that you can express gratitude towards.  Your home or apartment, your friends, your parents, your co-workers, your morning coffee or tea, your senses, your child!  All things, both large and small, have the ability to attract gratitude into your heart.

Let me challenge you.  For the next 7 days, until my next post, I challenge you to create a life of gratitude together with your children and to perform acts of gratitude openly towards all things on Earth in the company of your children.  Whether you are a parent, grandparent, teacher, aunt, uncle or in the presence of a child – purposefully express gratitude for all to see and hear.

Here are some ideas to get you started, but remember, this challenge is for 7 days so choose wisely ‘grasshopper’.  Strong ‘grasshoppers’ may choose all 4!

1.) Write down or speak of 5 things daily that you are grateful for each night before you turn out the lights.

2.) Inspire one person each day to push through a moment of difficulty.

3.) Explore a new place or idea each day.

4.) Both you and your child share this challenge with a friend.

Do you want to make meaningful change in the world?  Do you hope for your child to be part of the Joy Kids Generation?  This is where it all begins.  With gratitude.  You are a superior world changer when you demonstrate gratitude in the company of a child and when that child brings that attitude of gratitude into the world around them.

Do you have some thoughts of your own on this topic? Please leave your comments below.

Discover more helpful tips and ways to express gratitude and joy with the Joy Kids Express.  It’s FREE and takes 1 minute to read.  You have 1 minute, right ‘grasshopper’?  The world is depending on you!

By, Joanne Henig, Co-Founder
Joy Kids Universe, LLC
The Law of Attraction for Kids
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Take Two (Minutes)

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When compared to a day, a week or a lifetime, two minutes is really no big deal.

But taking two minutes right now (after you read this post), can have a huge impact on the rest of your day.

What do I want you to do for the next two minutes?  How about a two-minute meditation.  It’s easy.  It’s quick.  And, you guessed it, it’s only two minutes.  Plus you can do this with your kids!

breatheTake two minutes out of your very busy day (social media) and sit quietly while focusing on your breathing.  The deep inhale and the deep exhale.  Keep your focus there for just two minutes.  Your mind is going to wander.  I call this ‘Monkeys On The Bed’ syndrome.  But just as quickly as your mind wanders, bring your attention back to your breathing.  Inhale.  Exhale.  Gently but deeply.  Inhale.  Exhale.

No need to have a fancy mantra from the dynamic duo of Oprah / Chopra.  No meditation mat required.  No chimes to ring or candles to burn.  Just direct your focus to your breathing.  Let the monkeys jump, push them away and come back to the breathing.  Ahhhh.  That’s nice.  I know.

This little exercise will bring you peace at this very moment.  Calmness will reside where deadlines and commitments once stood.  Do you feel that?  It’s called a smile.  : )

Who knows.  From here, you just might accomplish great things in less time with less stress.  Folks around you might start looking at you saying “Hmmmmm”.  Or is it “Ohmmmm”?  Either way, you will feel the shift and the benefit.

Take two minutes. If you don’t have two minutes to spare, you might want to loosen up your schedule (caped crusader).

By, Joanne Henig, Co-Founder
Joy Kids Universe, LLC
The Law of Attraction for Kids
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram | YouTube

Make Cleaning Up Fun For Your Kids

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my-cleaning-trolleyFun isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you ask your kids to help clean up the house. That’s why it’s referred to as a household “chore”. But, there are some things you can do to turn the drudgery of house cleaning into a fun time. Here are some ideas from Joy Kids Universe.

• Make believe – Some imaginative moms dress themselves and their daughters up and pretend they’re playing Cinderella. Or, they pretend they’re filming cleaning TV commercials, and mouth their impromptu lines while they’re cleaning.

• Turn it into a game – Section off areas of the house and challenge the kids to clean up the most sections in the fastest time. Make sure that everyone who did a good job gets a reward.

• Break the job down into simple tasks – Don’t dump an entire cleaning operation on a child. Instead, separate the job into individual tasks and ask the child to do one task at a time. Make sure to match the task to the child’s capabilities.

• Use clean-up time to teach your child generosity – Cleaning up is a good opportunity to segregate stuff you and your child no longer need. You can teach your child about donating the stuff to charity. Casey Rose and the Joybug believe this will teach compassion for others and gratitude for what they have.

• Help kids learn while they clean – Use cleaning time to teach your kids about colors, shapes, and other basic things. For instance, ask them to pick up blue things, or store squares. It’s also a good time to teach them how to use basic tools and cleaning implements. It teaches them to learn freely and joyfully each day.

• Set up a regular cleaning schedule – Explain to your kids why you need the schedule, what you expect, and what the time frames are. Ask for their suggestions. Turn it into a running contest with prizes every month, every semester, and an annual grand prize like a weekend at a beach resort for everyone.