The 50 Best Gratitude Quotes for Kids, Family, & Friends

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Why do you need to know the best gratitude quotes for kids?

Gratitude is an incredible superpower proven to transform lives! Research shows kids who adopt an “attitude of gratitude” are happier and healthier.

Most importantly, kids are more likely to be thankful when their caregivers practice and model gratitude themselves.

Quotes are a simple yet impactful tool that inspires a thankful heart. So let’s dive in!

What are gratitude quotes for kids?

Gratitude quotes for kids are inspirational words and phrases from the heart intended to inspire appreciation and thankfulness.

Since gratitude is a bit abstract, quotes provide clear examples of how to find the positive in every day and give thanks for all the good things, people, and experiences life can bring.

Best of all, quotes can inspire us as caregivers to practice what we preach and model an attitude of gratitude.

Research tells us that grateful kids are often the happiest kids. Gratitude is one of the greatest gifts we can give our family!

How can I spark an “attitude of gratitude” for my family?

Research shows that parents who model gratitude and engage in gratitude-related activities with their children tend to raise more grateful kids.

Raising a grateful family is not achieved through one monumental action step but rather through thousands of seemingly simple, everyday moments.

Here are some fun and easy ways to sprinkle gratitude into your daily routine:

1. Words of Appreciation: When your child offers assistance, accept it! Follow up with an “I truly appreciate your help.”
2. Find the Silver Lining: In the words of Daniel Tiger, “When something seems bad, turn it around and find something good!” Ask open-ended questions to help your child find the positive even in tough situations. Just don’t forget to validate their emotions of anger, frustration, or disappointment first!
3. Read Gratitude Stories: Gratitude books are most impactful when read year-round, not just at Thanksgiving! Check out our list of the best gratitude books for kids.
4. Gratitude Scavenger Hunt: Talk a nature walk together and see how many things you can find appreciation for! Whether you take time to notice the air you breathe or a blooming flower, the great outdoors can quickly put life into perspective.
5. Gratitude Notes: Whether you use one of our favorite quotes below or your own words of appreciation, drop your child a surprise gratitude note in their lunchbox, on their pillow, or tape it to the bathroom mirror.

The 50 Best Gratitude Quotes to Spark a Thankful Heart in Kids

The Best Overall Gratitude Quotes for Kids

1. “The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.” -Robert Holden

2. “The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies, and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields, and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day. What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it.” -Michael Josephson

3. “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” -Eckhart Tolle

4. “In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day or to celebrate each special day.” -Rasheed Ogunlaru

5. “We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.” -Neal A. Maxwell

6. “I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” -Brene Brown

7. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.” -Melody Beattie

8. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie

9. “The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.” -Walt Disney

10. “Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.” -Charlotte Brontë

11. “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.” -Amy Collette

12. “Have gratitude for all that you have, and you can be happy exactly as you are.” -Mandy Ingber

13. “Gratitude opens the door, the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.” -Deepak Chopra

The Best Quotes About Expressing Gratitude

14. “My body is a garden rooted in gratitude. Thank you is the biggest poem I’ve got inside of me.” -Sabrina Benaim

15. “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” -G.K. Chesterton

16. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy

17. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” -William Arthur Ward

The Best “Gratitude Attitude” Quotes for Kids

18. “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love—then make that day count!” -Steve Maraboli

19. “Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can see the colours.” -Richelle E. Goodrich

20. “Bad things do happen; how I respond to them defines my character and the quality of my life. I can choose to sit in perpetual sadness, immobilized by the gravity of my loss, or I can choose to rise from the pain and treasure the most precious gift I have—life itself.” -Walter Anderson

21. “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” -Germany Kent

22. “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” -Alphonse Karr

23. “Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude.” -Maya Angelou

24. “Even in the trials of life, if we have eyes to see them, we can find good things everywhere we look.” -Joanna Gaines

25. “Gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions. Once expressed, it changes attitude, brightens outlook and broadens our perspective.” -Germany Kent

The Best Gratitude Quotes for Family

26. “Sometimes we should express our gratitude for the small and simple things like the scent of the rain, the taste of your favorite food, or the sound of a loved one’s voice.” -Joseph B. Wirthlin

27. “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.” -Amy Carmichael

28. “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” -Maya Angelou

30. “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all the others.” -Cicero

29. “Gratitude helps you grow and expand; gratitude brings joy and laughter into your life and into the lives of all those around you.” -Eileen Caddy

The Best Gratitude Quotes for Friends

31. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” -John F. Kennedy

32. “Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.” -Randy Pausch

33. “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” -W. Clement Stone

The Best Kindness and Gratitude Quotes for Kids

34. “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” -Lao Tzu

35. “Gratitude to me is the quality of being thankful, and the readiness to show kindness and appreciation to those around you.” -Miranda Kerr

The Best Short Gratitude Quotes for Kids

36. “The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.” -Mary Davis

37. “If you want to find happiness, find gratitude.” -Steve Maraboli

38. “This is a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.” -Maya Angelou

39. “No one has ever become poor by giving.” -Anne Frank

40. “There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” -Ralph H. Blum

41. “Gratitude will shift you to a higher frequency, and you will attract much better things.” -Rhonda Byrne

42. “Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.” -Lionel Hampton

The Best Thankful Quotes for Family

43. “When you give thanks for everything, the Universe gives you even more to be thankful for.” -Mike Love

44. “When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.” -Kristin Armstrong

45. “The power of finding beauty in the humblest things makes home happy and life lovely.” -Louisa May Alcott

The Best Thankful Quotes for Kids

46. “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.” -Douglas Wood

47. “Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are.” -Bethany Hamilton

48. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” -Oprah Winfrey

49. “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” -Henri Frederic Amiel

50. “It’s up to us to choose contentment and thankfulness now — and to stop imagining that we have to have everything perfect before we’ll be happy.” -Joanna Gaines

Be sure to check out our favorite gratitude tree activity!

The last thing you need to know about teaching kids gratitude

Now that you’ve read up on the best gratitude quotes for kids, here is a critical reminder before you embark upon your thankfulness family mission:

Like anything in positive, conscious parenting, instilling gratitude in our children starts with us.

Be patient, focus on yourself first, and remember that gratitude won’t always be immediate and consistent, particularly with very young children. Egocentric and demanding behavior in little ones is developmentally expected and not a reflection of your parenting!

Walk the walk and parent with a thankful heart. Stick with it and your children will follow suit in time. You’ve got this!

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