We both have gratitude on our minds right now. At a time that there is so much abundance — food, gifts, parties — and conversely, so many of us struggling with holidays in general, it’s so valuable for us to slow down and consider ways to help develop more gratitude in our kids. And honestly in ourselves.
So this week on Spawned with Kristen + Liz, you’ll find a really honest, helpful (we hope!) conversation about gratitude as a way to ground ourselves this holiday season (and beyond), and connect us all to the things that really matter.
Take a listen as we take on topics like:
-keeping kids from being materialistic or obsessed with “stuff”
-the benefit of experience gifts
-the “3-gift theory” from Gabby Blair of Design Mom
-whether we should discuss our finances with kids as they get older
-practicing more conscientious, mindful consumerism
–self-care apps and meditation apps that include gratitude as part of a program
The Grateful journaling app for iOS
-travel as a way to develop empathy, perspective and gratitude
-How to find gratitude in everyday things, like water — and writing it down as a helpful exercise (these printable gratitude coloring pages for kids are a nice place to start)
-The benefits of expressing gratitude both when things feel tough, and when things feel pretty great
-The advantage of spending time alone with kids
-Supporting people in need as a way to create gratitude, start with these ways to help in Puerto Rico and California
Listen to our latest episode right now and grab some tips of your own.
And make sure you’re a Spawned subscriber on iTunes or your own favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode.
This week’s awesome sponsors: Kidvelope
This cool, collaborative, hilarious mission adventure game connects kids with faraway parents, grandparents, deployed military, or even older siblings off at college. Kids receive a fun, irreverent activity kit (a kid envelope) then team up with a grownup to play online and offline, connecting by phone or over email to help solve the problems together, play digital games, and even create cool creative projects. — and create hands-on creative
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The WildBrain Network
For a little chill time with your younger kids, the WildBrain Network on YouTube offers popular family-friendly programming like:
–Kiddyzuzaa, a modern day princess channel with 2.5m subscribers. Join Olivia, Esme, Lilliana, and Isabella on all kinds of adventures as they conjure up magic, create wacky inventions, and work together to save Kiddyzuzaa Land
–Ellie Sparkles, the ultimate toy game show hosted by Ellie from her home in NYC, where she shares all the greatest toy releases
–The Tiddlytubbies, perfect for toddlers, this Teletubbies spin-off features 8 safe, warm, and adorable little siblings to the original four.
Tune in to the kid-friendly shows on the WildBrain Network with your family this holiday. It’s free!
Our Cool Picks of the Week
Kristen: A roundup of printable gratitude journals for kids, some of them free. (This one via The Scattered Printable)
Liz: More printables! This time, the awesome Broadway-themed coloring pages, notecards and postcards from Coloring Broadway / The coloring project on Etsy. (The Schuyler Sisters postcards are a favorite, of course.)
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