The Art of Saying Thank You

By Rana DiOrio, Founder, Little Pickle Press

http://www.cardstore.com

During our weekly all-hands meeting/call, we were brainstorming ideas to flesh out our November Editorial Calendar. As you may or may not be aware, our theme for November is An Attitude of Gratitude. One of our advisory board members, who was calling in from Colorado, remarked that I am among the most grateful people she has encountered and that I am always saying, “thank you.” It was a very high compliment, and one that made me feel as though I’m finally “getting it.”

As a mother, I try to foster an attitude of gratitude in my children. We practice saying “please” and “thank you” at home. I know you parents can relate to how much time, energy, patience, and love it takes to instill these simple manners in your children. But it is worth the effort, wouldn’t you say? Isn’t it the greatest feeling when you hear your child thank someone for something? Our two-year-old has about 15 words in his lexicon at the moment. Two of them are “thank you.” No kidding. He routinely thanks the people in his life for everything from setting his breakfast down in front of him to helping him reach something out of his grasp. It is truly heartwarming.

I’d like to encourage the grown-ups in the lives of children to take this a step further. I would like to see those of us who know the importance of saying thank you to teach our children to write thank you notes. As a child, my mother was very diligent about keeping lists of gifts my brother and I received for our birthdays, Christmas, milestone celebrations (such as First Communion), etc. We were expected to write hand-written notes to everyone who gave us gifts. Well, of course! They took the time to think of just the right gift, went out to buy it with their hard-earned money, and either gave or sent it to us—it was only right that we write them a heartfelt note expressing our appreciation, right?

Sadly, I think that children today are not writing thank you notes as much. I encourage you to change this with the children in your life. Buy raw materials made of post-consumer waste and reuse materials in your home (scrap paper, catalogues, ribbon, fabric, etc.). Make the exercise of writing thank you notes fun and engaging. If your child does not yet write, make it about them drawing a picture expressing their gratitude. If your child is just starting to write, have them decorate the card and then write the first letter of each word of their note. In so doing, they are practicing identifying the starting sounds of each word as they express thanks. If your child is writing, then by all means have them draft an original note. They can write a draft on scrap paper and then “ink” it onto their beautiful card. I promise you, it will be a rewarding experience for you and your child. My children draw thank you pictures with notes for us all the time now. They express gratitude for not only things but also for special time we have spent with them.

As always, I encourage you to lead by example. Let your children hear you thank your friends, family, co-workers, employees, shopkeepers, mail delivery people, etc. Let them see you writing thank you notes too. Saying “thank you” is an art, and it is contagious. Try it, you’ll see.