Hearing your young child spontaneously say a heartfelt “thank you” can turn a horrible day into a good one. But the opposite is sometimes also true: Seeing your child not show a shred of gratitude—or, perhaps worse, assume that they should be showered with endless toys or gifts—can send you on an emotional tailspin wondering what you did (or failed to do) as a parent that led to this point.

Numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of gratitude, and there are science-backed ways that parents can nurture an attitude of gratitude in their kids. But because gratitude takes practice, it’s reasonable to expect that kids will miss the mark a lot of times, too, and act in ways that might appear thankless to those around them.

So, in those moments when kids miss opportunities to be grateful, what type of parenting strategies can we use that might lead kids to be more grateful later? A recent study explored this question.

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