Are Our Kids Ungrateful Or Are They Mirroring Us

You plan the basket. You track down the trendy toy. You spend the money, wrap the stuff, hide the eggs, and build the moment in your head. Then your kid blows through it in two minutes and hits you with a complaint. If you’ve ever felt that hot mix of rage, sadness, and “I must be a terrible mom,” you’re our kind of people. We’re unpacking the post-Easter letdown and the bigger question underneath it: how do we raise grateful kids in a world that constantly pushes more, bigger, better? We talk about the pressure of holiday “magic,” the weird competition that can show up with divorced parenting and gift giving, and how social media turns a normal basket into something that suddenly feels “not enough.” We also get honest about how kids can be sweet and still act entitled, and why that doesn’t mean we’ve failed. Then we move into what actually helps: teaching the value of money with age-appropriate responsibility, letting kids contribute to the household, and having real conversations about hourly wages, taxes, and why parents can’t just keep upgrading life on demand. We share practical ideas like slowing down the gift opening so kids can notice and reflect, plus simple money habits like the three-jar system for spending, saving, and giving. We also name the uncomfortable truth: kids mirror what they see, so gratitude starts with what we model. If this topic hits home, subscribe, share this with a mom friend who’s in the thick of it, and leave a review so more anxious, exhausted parents can find us. What’s the most “ungrateful” moment you’ve dealt with, and how did you respond?

Transcript

Welcome To Anxiety Ridden Moms Club

SPEAKER_00 0:01

You're listening to the Anxiety Ridden Moms Club, the podcast for moms who love their kids deeply and still feel anxious, exhausted, and overstimulated.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Here, we talk about the messy stuff, the thoughts we don't say out loud, the pressure to do it all, and the journey back to ourselves. Progress over perfection always. Let's go.

Post Easter Letdown And Guilt

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Okay, I'm just gonna say it. Did anyone else have a moment after Easter where you looked at your kid and thought, why are you acting like this isn't enough?

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Yes, and then immediately feel like the worst mom alive for even thinking that.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Like you just spent time, money, energy trying to make it special. And they're already on to the next thing, what they want next, and complaining.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Or they open everything in two and a half seconds and you're like, did you even see what you just got? I had that moment.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

I had that moment a couple of times. I always do. You know, I talked about this after we got divorced, that I feel like it's always the gift gift, like the gift giving is always a competition. Like who gets the best, who takes them on the best vacation, who all of all of the things. Um but this year I got I don't know. I guess two things kind of happened. I always feel like when they're opening their stuff, like, I don't know, it's kind of blown off. Well, for starters, I was trying to find baskets to like put the stuff in. And I find the basket that I gave my daughter last year, and it still has like four hair clips in it. And and I'm like, I drive myself freaking crazy trying to figure out what to buy these kids. Yeah. Oh yeah. And here's last year's Easter. Literally, dollar bills still stuffed in eggs from last year.

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Like, what? You know, that brings me back even when I was a kid and I remember like I would get gifts or like, you know, let's say Christmas or something, and my grandparents would give me like a check or something. And then all of a sudden you'd find it like eight ten months later in the bottom of your closet. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

Exactly. I so I literally I re-gifted one of the hair clips and she pulls it out of the basket and she says, How many times am I gonna get this hair clip? I'm like, Well, until you, you know, use it and you're not an ungrateful freaking brat. And then she goes to her dad's and she calls me because Does he even know her with the gifts he gave her? Does he even know her? And I at that in that moment, I was like, we're not doing this. We're not doing this. We work really freaking hard for our money, me and your father, and like we're not. And then she posted on TikTok. I I sent it to you. I don't even remember what it said, but basically that I'm a shitty mom. And I was like, What? Like, okay, I just spent the last two weeks, like, is it enough? Is it this? Is it that? Spending how much money? And it's what?

SPEAKER_00 3:10

Yeah, uh well, we've always done you know, tried to figure out, you know, obviously Easter shouldn't feel like Christmas, but on the other hand, it's hard to almost not make sure it like seems pretty darn cool. So there still is a lot of like thought and effort that goes into a good experience. Now, see, I'm in the phase where at this point, you know, I just have to do it for the grandkids, so it's a little easier and I don't have to do I don't have to make the full necessarily experience because I like to leave that for the parents to enjoy like whatever they create in their homes.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Enjoy. Is that the word we're using?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Or try to enjoy. Hey, let's put it that way. We're we're hope I think that's a problem is we hope for this great moment. Your kids wake up, they're so excited. It's like just a joyful day. And then they're kids. So that doesn't mean it's always joyful. Some ages are more joyful than others.

Trying To Create Meaningful Gifts

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Some ages they, you know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

So the Easter bunny, Nora has asked me a thousand times to shave her legs. And so the Easter bunny brought her everything that she needed to shave her legs. Uh-huh. And we had to do it like right then and there. It was the greatest, you know, gonna be the greatest thing ever. And she comes out with this razor packed with hair. And I tried to give her like the the rundown of how it's done. She comes out with this razor-packed, hair-packed razor, and she's like, I don't want to do this. Sorry, sister Sue. You just started. You just started. Yeah. I don't really think that she actually did. So I bought her one of those razors that has like the shaving cream or like the hard coating around the razor, so she wouldn't like cut herself, but I don't think they work super great.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

So I was like, number one, we're getting through 10 years of hair. She's gonna have to give it a couple swipes. Yep. Number two, you're gonna have to clean the razor out. I was like, but I can give you this razor. And she's like, I'm over it. I was like, okay. So I, you know, had it all hyped up in my head that this is gonna be like the greatest gift ever. And and she thought it was for a moment, two minutes.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

So she realized what it really means to shave your legs.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

And I'll I'll never forget when I was uh a kid. I hate, I can't stand hair. It just and so when I was a kid, it drove me nuts. And now mind you, I'm a redhead, so the hair on my legs was blonde. It's not like I mean, I had like these legs that you could even see it that much. But to me, I could feel it and ugh, it would just gross me out. So I kept begging my mom I wanted to be able to shave my legs. And she would tell me, Do you know what that means when you go to shave your legs? Do you realize that you have to shave your legs all the time? Once you start, you there's no turning back, and this is what you're gonna have to do. And I'm like, I do not care. But I honest to God would hate it so badly that I was the happiest kid in the world when I shaved my legs. That was the greatest thing ever.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Her shit's been sitting on the counter, not looked at since I do.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

I do understand though why most people really are, I think most of my friends or anything were like, oh my God, they weren't, they were nothing like me.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

One of the just one of the gifts that the bunny was going to bring, we got these, I think it's Melinda Maria or something like that, but expensive necklaces like diamond cross necklaces. And then each of us are getting a tag on it that we took a card from my grandma where she signed our birthday cards and it says Love Graham. And so we're getting the tag engraved. Well, the tags weren't done. So then I went through this whole like Wait, are you getting this engraved like in her handwriting? Yeah. You can do that. Yeah. Who are you doing that through? It's so cool. We've we've got a person local that's doing our necklaces, but you can do it on Etsy. Oh. So for the boys, they all got keychains, like leather keychains where it was like burned in or whatever. Uh-huh. Um, and then ours will have we're gonna have gold tags to our necklaces that say love graham. Oh. Well, the tag didn't come.

SPEAKER_00 7:20

The super cool idea. Okay, go on.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

The tag didn't come. So then I would go through this whole like panic mode of like, oh my God, now it's gonna look like she doesn't get shit. And then, you know, it's whatever. And so you have all of those moments trying to make it perfect, and then it's like, eh, how many times am I gonna get this hair clip? I don't want to shave anymore. And I'm just like, oh my god. And then she was mad that her brother got a nido. Have you heard of Nitos or the Nido Craze? I heard something, but I don't even know. I really don't know what it is. So I don't know if it's like you call it a sensory toy, but it's literally just a squish, like oh, yeah. Okay, okay.

SPEAKER_00 8:00

Yes, I yes. They were just talking about this, and I know something was mentioned, but I wasn't, I didn't, I'll be honest, I wasn't totally paying a whole lot of attention. But I now that you say that I know what you're talking about. Yes, and I hear it's very huge. It's huge.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

So week months ago, she wanted the biggest one. And so I'm like, I'm all over it. I contacted my sister-in-law actually because it was from Walmart and she has the Walmart Plus or whatever with a free ship, whatever. So I order it. Literally, it arrives. My mom's like, hey, your thing's here. And I get a picture from Nora holding the Nito. And I'm like, What the? She's like, Oh my god, they were at Walmart when me and dad went. My dad bought me one. I'm like, Oh my god. For the love of Pete. Well, they're sold out in the whole wide universe, right? And you could not find a nido that you would get prior to Easter. So we had this one. I was like, Oh, we can turn around and sell it. Then she wants the smaller one. So I literally have any, everyone that I know looking for these smaller nidos. My mom ended up finding one at Walmart, one uh like a bunch of them at Aldi. So then the kids get playing with them. And my oldest at 14, he's like, that's kind of cool. I wouldn't mind having one. Well, I had one on reserve from when so I well, then it was like she was appalled that now he has one too. And now it's not cool because he has one too. So it's like this whole big ordeal. And I'm like, How do you and that's when I literally dropped the note in our episode idea notes like, how do you raise grateful

The Nido Craze And Sibling Drama

SPEAKER_01 9:32

kids? Because this is exhausting. And my kids are sweet, they're kind, like all of the things. But they're spoiled ass brats.

SPEAKER_00 9:44

They lack some appreciation.

SPEAKER_01 9:46

Appreciation. And then she my mom had gotten her a pair of Birkenstock sandals. Well, she didn't like them because they were the wrong color or whatever. And so twice we returned two different pairs that she didn't like, and then she settled on an album, and then she was put out that the album might not be there on time. And I'm just like

The Big Question About Gratitude

SPEAKER_01 10:10

so. I guess here we are, and I want to know how do you raise grateful children?

SPEAKER_00 10:20

You know, honestly. That's a tough question, if you think it's a very tough question. Cause I do think that there is can be kids who are grateful a lot of the times and they're just it's just in their nature. You know what I mean? You always have those kids who like understand what it takes for you to buy them something, what it takes for you to do something for them. And I think that they they just it that's just kind of who they are. You know what I mean? But then you have the other ones who have seem like they have phases of life, some where they're grateful and then some phases that they're not, you know, it's the seasons we go through. And I think sometimes it's um they just they kind of like have an expectation because we always try to make sure they have everything they want and need, and everything they want and need, maybe the wants don't always have to show up, but we've probably always provided it. So if it's not what they're hoping for, and we've always made their hopes and dreams come true before, why wouldn't it always come true? If the bunny gave years of great things and made you so happy, and now this year the bunny didn't really listen very well. Now you know, I don't

Work Ethic And The Value Of Money

SPEAKER_00 11:34

know. I think that um I do think that's why too is kids like I'm not big into chores or anything, but I do think that kids just helping to make the the house run a little bit. Like if I need help with something, you should be willing to help me because it's just well that's just called we take care of each other.

SPEAKER_01 11:51

I do feel like it kind of goes hand in hand with hard work. And I do be a hard worker and have a good work ethic.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Um, because once you realize what you make an hour, your hourly way wage to survive, like what you need to what me as is a single parent needs to make in an hour to provide what they need and how hard we work for that money, I think that could be a full I think that helps.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

So like if you have a kid who's not as in tune to the appreciation, I think that's when hard work can help to when that's the moment when they'll start to like grow up and understand it. But then it's like I tell you, I mean, like Kylie, she's just she's appreciative, very, very appreciative. And I just it's not because I did anything or I said, you know, I talked to her about stuff that's going, you know, that like we do to help her to have things, or or I might say, hey, we just like Christmas, if you didn't couldn't tell, it's been a little expensive. So we're gonna have a couple months just kind of chill out. Like, don't ask me for 25 things anymore. And she's always, even when she was young, she was just oh, okay, what I you know what I mean. I but that's just who she is. I mean, I it's not like I would say that's because I parented her a certain way and that's why they haven't. I just think it's you're it's either in your nature, it's not. And if it's not, I think then you have to start understanding what money means. And unfortunately, for some kids, though, that doesn't mean like even being 15, 16, you got a job and you figured it out because Casey would be out of all my kids, the one, of course, that like wasn't always very appreciative to what he had. It was kind of like he was appreciative in the moment, but he was real quick to find something else that we needed to get him or do for him. And if we weren't doing it all, then it he would be unhappy. And he was a hard worker, even for when he was young. I mean, like he was the kid who like when he was seven, eight years old, wanted to like cut the grass and do things. So, how is he with finances? Like, is he He's very oh my God, he's like really good with finances now. Now, but like as a kid, he was all about spending his money. So, which is why we had issues because if he didn't have the money, then he wanted us to have the money, and that's just how it should happen.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

We almost had a knockout drag out fight because they wanted to go to Nana's, which is a local ice cream place. And I'm like, you guys, you want nanas? I will get in my car and I will drive you to nanas, but you're gonna buy nanas. Like you get money for everything, you get money for helping out like Wyatt, and I'll pay him to help mow the yard and different things. Like, then you'll pay for it. They fought and they fought and they fought. And I think we ended with Wyatt paying nine, Nora paying four. And they got nanas and it was all. Then they wanted to know, well, are you gonna get something? And I was like, if I'm driving your asses, hell yeah, I'm getting something. So you need $14. And it was like, oh my god, the end, the end of the world. And then, you know, it's funny because Wyatt is so much like his father that, like, if they if he has a dollar to his name, he wants to spend it. And that is just not, that's not me. Um, my boyfriend is like that, also, like giving they will give the shirt off their back. They will buy you a new shirt. It could be my last eight dollars, and I will spend it on buying you whatever it is that you need. So, like caring, but also just not financially like that. Was your last eight dollars to last you until you get paid in two weeks and you just bought some random shirt? You know what I'm saying? Like, I feel like there's the the two types of people, the ones that have it and like to spend it, and the ones that like to save. But and and why it is he, yeah. So he's like, Can we go to Mexican tonight? And I'm like, You guys, I'm not I'm not getting eighty thousand dollar bonuses anymore. Like, we've things have changed. Yeah. He's like, Well, I'll buy it. And I'm like, Well, I thought you were gonna buy, you know, whatever. And he's like, I'll figure it out. And I'm just like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

I don't know. You just hope that when they get older that they figured out. Like, I mean, like I said, Casey was a spender. He wanted the coolest everything, whatever he could, you know, was ever neat and what was out there and what made him happy at that moment. But then now as an adult, he's like, if I want to get this, I need to like save over here. We're not gonna go out and spend anything. You know, oh, I told my wife there's no extra spending at the moment. Let's we're cutting costs so that we can save because we want to get to this point. You know, like he's very, very, very like budgeted, really budgeted.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

I like and that's probably more like I will, and but I will I will find myself doing girl math where I'm like, oh, I got $200 back on whatever. Yeah. I'm gonna spend that $200 like four times over because I have to justify it, but every expense has to be justified in my head, like one way, one way or another, which is crazy.

The Bunny Poops Eggs Tradition

SPEAKER_01 16:48

But I did, I was, I was researching this because I really want to know. And um I watched some video where they said that they made their kids set up three jars. So any like dollars that they made, one went for things that they wanted, one was for savings, and one was for giving. And I thought that was cool. So if they made three dollars, one went in every jar. And so, you know, why it worked last summer doesn't have a dollar of it saved. Yeah. Which he's young, but he also, I found out yesterday, is starting driver's ed in quarter two of next year. Like there's gonna be insurance and gas, and you don't have a dollar. Right. So like, come on now. And then Nora doesn't care what you spend, it's not fucking good enough. So here we are, and that's why I wanted to have this episode. Exactly. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:38

Uh yeah. The joys of raising children, you know what I mean? I just think seriously though, I do think it's it's different kids. And I don't think I think some people, you know, they do those things and then they're just nothing but angry with their kids afterwards, which is just where I think we have to evaluate life outside of the special moments, even. You know what I mean? Like, are they getting all they want during that time? Is there ever a time that they're contributing themselves, just like you said, taking Gilga ice cream? Are they kind of being taught the value of a dollar?

SPEAKER_01 18:05

And that's fine too, because then like we're all eating ice cream, and I'm like, man, I don't know, should I? I just bought the ice cream. But it's like, no, it's the lesson. Yes, the lesson behind the ice cream. And I will get in trouble when she listens to this episode. I will get in trouble. So I'm just forewarning Nora. I love you. You are one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. Between you and your brother, my favorite. Um, but there are moments are friends. There are moments. We have to be grateful for what we get and what we have, and we work very, very hard for our money.

SPEAKER_00 18:39

Yes. Yes. And you know, that's the thing is um I think each one of my kids, once they actually started like a job at 16 and they got a paycheck, and then any taxes or anything were taken out of that paycheck, they would be like, Are you freaking kidding me? No, like this is ridiculous. What do you mean? I worked this many hours, this is how much I made, and this is what I'm gonna come home with. I this isn't right, and I don't understand this. So blah, blah, blah, blah. Which is, of course, the conversation of taxes and all the reasons why they don't like them. But it did make them, yes, made them realize it was a good time to have conversations about that's we have had that happening all our lives, and we go and we make all this money, but a chunk of that change goes away for insurance and it goes away for taxes. So we don't get to have all that money just put in our pockets to go blow on you. We have to pay bills and take care of other things and have priorities, what we want to have as a family, and it's a lot. And I do think that helps at least good conversations once they start working. Um, but like I said, and that because I think at the end of the day, if you have someone who is less appreciative, that is the only way at some point, and it may take them longer than others to still even figure it all out, but it that's the only way at the beginning of like waking up to some reality, like sets in. You know, it takes a lot. We work hard, we go to work, and we put in everything we can to walk home with uh part of our pay pache.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Right.

unknown 20:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

And then we have to pay everything first and then have all that extra just for our kids to make them happy. You know, sometimes they gotta realize that it takes a lot.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Maybe this will help. Maybe this episode will help.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

Yes. Hopefully it will. But the one thing I did have fun with was um, you know, the bunny rabbit this year was so one thing is for anybody who's seen anything on social media, you would know that my bunny rabbit tends to poop all over my house. Now I have to tell you a funny story about this, though, because I've always said, Oh my gosh, this bunny rabbit just comes in here and thinks he's just gonna poop eggs all over my home. This is ridiculous. Okay. And so the kids think it's great. This year I even sent a picture of the bunny rabbit pooping that I caught him, and he was pooping some eggs in my house. And my grandkids, they videoed like a very naughty Easter bunny. It's very funny. I'm telling you. Very, very naughty. And um, so my daughter-in-law videoed them watch looking at this picture that I sent over to them, showing that I caught him. And my one grandson, he looks at it and he was like, Oh, Mimi is gonna be mad. She gets really mad when that Easter bunny just poops all over her house. But he was so excited because he kept telling me, I can't wait till the Easter bunny comes to your house and poops eggs everywhere so I can pick them up and you know, and he can have all this stuff. And so it was made it a lot more fun, just kind of adding in something that's just different. But my daughter, this is how sometimes silly her brain is. She believed that that they really do that bunnies poop eggs like a chicken. Because I told her this. So one day, I think she was like 15 or 16, too old to think that they poop eggs. Okay. We don't. Bunny Ramons don't do that. And um we were having a conversation or whatever. And she's like, wait a minute, what? What do you mean they don't poop eggs? And she goes, Do you know that I was at school? And she told somebody something about it. And they're like, What are you talking about? So she gave me the wanted to go home to say, I thought for sure that the but that bunny rabbits poop eggs.

SPEAKER_01 22:23

She thought there were chicken eggs and bunny eggs.

SPEAKER_00 22:26

Oh. They don't just lay bunnies, they lay eggs who hatch bunnies.

Social Media Pressure And Holiday Boundaries

SPEAKER_00 22:32

So maybe sometimes the stupid funny things we do. I should probably explain when I get to, I guess, a certain age, because otherwise. So I do know that for later down the road for my grandchildren.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

That that's so I wonder this world of AI is it gonna keep imaginations and things a little go on a little bit longer? You know what I mean? I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 22:56

I've done a lot to keep my kids' imaginations go longer than most kids, and it's and I loved it because it keeps you kids as long as possible, adds a little more fun. And I mean, got imagin you gotta admit those pictures that you know me, we both did them, and it with the bunny rabbit was brutally hilarious. Yeah, it was good.

SPEAKER_01 23:14

My kids were funny because they're like, because my picture, it looked like he was just on the other side of the counter, a kitchen island. But anybody that's been to my house knows that that's stairwells. So why it's like, oh, we've got a levitating bunny. Maybe we do. He's very talented. He poops eggs and he levitates.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

Swear. So funny. It's so funny. But it is probably why we somewhat warp our children's minds and you know, they can aggravate us because of it, and we probably create some of that problem, you know? Fixing it, I don't know. I don't know how we totally fix it. Just be because um I don't know. I feel like you don't want to have not that fun that we create for them is just as much fun for me. I mean, I know the headache a little bit of like figuring it out can be kind of stressful at times, but on the other hand, it's fun to like put the stuff together and imagine how they're gonna be happy and this is gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 24:12

I can't tell you though how many times my feelings have been hurt because I put so much into it. I love gift giving. I love the thought that goes behind it. And then when I find the hair clips like a year later, I'm like, what the like what?

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 24:28

And it's always, I don't know. And then to pivot a little bit, like you get into the whole conversation of parents and gift giving in Santa and like which gifts come from Santa and which comes from the Easter bunny, and then you have these lavish, like, my kids each had a basket. And then I get on social media, and there are people that have it looks like full-blown Christmas. Uh-huh. And it's just how do you draw the boundaries and know?

SPEAKER_00 25:01

Yeah, what to do? I mean, that's well, Tom even told me when I was getting some stuff even for the grandkids, and he was like, What the heck are you doing? Are you trying to make it like it's freaking Christmas? And I'm like, No, because seriously, if you look at this, I'm not getting that much. I really am not. But the more bodies you also add, the more it just seems like you can just pile a bunch of shit on a table that now you gotta divide up, but it's not that much for each kid. But I definitely want it to be enough that they feel like it was something.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Yeah, and mine are gonna be 15 and 12 soon. Did I do that math right? I'm sorry, a bag of candy. Like I bought a little bag of candy, like one, and it was it was 10, 10 bucks. And so And that's not very much candy. No, it was like 48 pieces of like the tiny whatever. And so that's hard too, because 10 years ago, I could do a lot with my budget. And now it's like it looks like puny and they have no, you know, giving them the benefit of the doubt. They they don't understand that. It looked like Christmas. Now it looks like a random Tuesday. They don't they don't know, they don't get it. And I I don't blame them. I give, you know, but it just it's tough, man.

SPEAKER_00 26:20

It is really hard. I that's uh that's why I try to be creative this year with some of the stuff that I made. Just I I made a few t-shirts for them and stuff like that to try to make it at least a little less on the budget, but yet still gave you something that you can enjoy. Yeah, right. It seems like something. I did find some really cool. Um, they're really big clear eggs that you I saw those. Did you see those? Yeah. Oh, that's what I got this year. Although I needed four, so I got four. And then I get home and I'm putting them all together, and one of them was two pieces that did not fit together. So like they were the same, you know, two backs instead of a back and a front, but they were all taped together, you know, when you bought them. Oh my god. Oh, yeah. But when I got to go back to replace it, they were sold out. Sold out. I was like, you gotta be freaking kidding me. And I'm like, this isn't right. You can't have like different things, you know what I mean? Yeah. But luckily one of them's only two months, so he got a freaking basket.

SPEAKER_01 27:25

He got the two ends. Two male pieces.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

That's funny. Cause yeah, and then even that I thought, man, this is kind of cool. Like it, I feel like we do just even in the stores, kind of upgrade some of the neat things that you can do. And even something like that was just neat compared to just having the regular basket that I always have. You know what I mean? It was just kind of a cooler way to present it there.

SPEAKER_01 27:50

You know what I mean? Brad had gotten baptized um the Saturday before. So we had, I had their two baskets, and then I actually had like this this gift box, whatever, made up with some like baptism confirmation things and just cool little gifts. So I was like, well, since the three of you got Easter baskets, um, I appreciate mine just giving them a hard time. And so they came up with the idea that I had to go away. They sent me to my room and they repurposed their eggs and hid them for me. So then I had my own personal Easter egg hunt, adult Easter egg hunt, that I thoroughly enjoyed. So it might be a might be a tradition going forward because mom didn't get a basket. Moms never get baskets. Moms never get anything.

SPEAKER_00 28:34

It's just like even when you take pictures. I swear to God, most photos, I'm not in them because I'm too busy taking them.

SPEAKER_01 28:40

I did. I took the photos, we were present, we had a great, great, great, great time. So I will give it that. But I I did. I wanted to circle back on um how to raise grateful kids.

Small Practical Ways To Teach Gratitude

SPEAKER_00 28:55

Right. Which I think is a job in itself. But I think that it's something that um like I said, you have different um times and different ages that they are more appreciative than others for sure.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

So if your kid acted a little ungrateful after Easter, like mine, just one of them, what do we actually do?

SPEAKER_00 29:22

So I don't know. I kind of think it honestly, I think instead of rushing through the gifts, we need to pause, you know, hey, let's look at this one. What do you like about it?

SPEAKER_01 29:32

And I did do that. I said, what was your favorite part? What was your, you know what I mean? And trying to to to slow down.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

Which I think is hard to get kids to slow down, especially when they know there's an Easter egg hunt after Easter egg hunt, you're gonna get the gift that you have sitting there, whatever that may be, whatever you created for them. And I think that it's hard for them not to go from one thing to the next. But I think even like if you do some sort of Easter egg hunt, just have them sit there for a few. Let's see what you got from the Easter eggs. Let's before we get to the next step. Right. I definitely think that's for sure important.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

And I didn't I did a good job. I didn't, I didn't shame them. I I didn't okay. Maybe maybe when she went after her dad's, then I was just like, we're let's not do this. We're not gonna be ungrateful. We're not we're not we're not doing that.

SPEAKER_00 30:15

But um but you but you refrain to not get too crazy. Exactly. That's a good thing. Exactly. Uh it is um I I don't know, it's hard. I thought I think that I think that these times when they come across at all ungrateful not to be a little defensive. For sure. A little bit. Um so not getting everything they want is I think actually good. It's a good thing.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

For sure. Because gratitude and entitlement can't grow in the same space.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

Right. But I think you can also gotta kinda create some awareness to everything. So I mean maybe not in a guilty way, but in like a real way.

SPEAKER_01 31:01

Like kids in Africa don't have an Easter at all. I mean, I bet they do. See, I can't even throw I can't even do that, but some kids don't get baskets at all. Right. Not to shame.

SPEAKER_00 31:16

Just widen their perception or which I think you gotta be careful when we if when that's this is the part that's hard. Because if you say, you know, there's some kids that didn't get a basket, you should be more grateful. Just doesn't exactly like make the point because you're just like, yeah, okay, lady, whatever.

SPEAKER_01 31:31

So what you didn't throw at me, and that what I was expecting you to throw at me, this this was that sometimes, you know, the ungrateful energy that you're seeing is a mirror of the environment.

Modeling Mindset And Ending With Grace

SPEAKER_00 31:43

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

I I've been waiting for that one. You know, if we're constantly wanting more, upgrading, comparing, I guess they gotta learn it from somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

Yeah. They do, I mean, you know, unfortunately, we have to remember and always realize that our kids are always watching us. They learn from what we're doing, they learn from what we want, what we do, how we do it, what we accept, what we accept, what we don't. Um, and they do definitely mirror a lot of that. That's why a lot of times, you know, people say, Wow, you know, your daughter's just like you, your son's just like him, or they're both just like you, whatever it may be. And you think like that sounds really cute, but sometimes on the bad days, you should realize that's also you and their body. A thousand percent. So they definitely mirror everything for sure. For sure. If your kid had a moment, though, this Easter that doesn't define them, you know. I mean, just because they had that moment, they acted not quite as appreciative as you'd like. Like little bastards. And it doesn't define you as a mom. No, it's a teaching opportunity. It's not you failing or anything. We're not raising perfect kids. We're raising kids who are learning.

SPEAKER_01 33:04

And gratitude, it's not something they're born with. It's something we model, we teach, and we reinforce over time. So if your kids seemed a little ungrateful after Easter, take a breath.

SPEAKER_00 33:15

You didn't ruin them. You're just in the middle of raising them. Thanks for spending time with us.

SPEAKER_01 33:22

Take what you need, leave what you don't, and be gentle with yourself. And if you want to stay connected, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at the ARMC. And remember, you're not broken, you're becoming. We'll see you next time.