Building resilience in your kids is a great life gift that you can give them, and expressing and developing gratitude is a large part of that process. We’d love to share with you the thoughts of Hugh van Cuylenburg, best-selling author of The Resilience Project, and Hugh’s “Tool Kit for Trying Times”.

Hugh van Cuylenburg recommends these practical steps to help your child express and develop gratitude.

• Write down three things every single day that went well - keeping a journal by the bed helps make this practice a daily habit for every member of the family
• If family members are resistant to keeping a journal, gathering around the dining table is also an opportunity for parents and siblings to share the positives of their day
• Remember that even if your child isn't yet old enough to participate, they're always listening, and constantly observing what is important to you
• Consider that there is no role model more important to your children than you
• Before sleep, ask your child their favourite thing about the day. If they don't feel like sharing, offer your own highlight. For example, "My favourite thing today was coming home and seeing you"
• Identify who really inspires you and why, then talk to your child about those role models and why they mean so much to you
• Recognise that our kids are watching us to see how we respond to trying times ourselves - the values we display may have an important impact on them later in life

(Photograph credit: Rhonda Buitenhuis)