New Book, "Thank You! A Children's Book about Gratitude... all year long!", Introduces a Whole New Way to Look at Appreciation

INDIANAPOLIS - Feb. 14, 2023 - PRLog -- With her new book "Thank You! A Children's Book about Gratitude... all year long!" Chief Happiness Officer Sarah Ratekin helps make appreciation approachable and authentic while recognizing that emotions are sometimes complicated and confusing. And yet, even when things aren't quite going our way, a little gratitude can still go a long way to making our lives, and those of the people around us, better.

"Ungrateful brats!" is a common refrain of (ahem) more experienced generations, and yet in the hustle and chaos of busy modern life, for many of us (no matter what age) the concept of gratitude tends to take a back seat except for a few weeks around a particular autumnal holiday, or as a reflexive "thank you for the socks…" muttered at the appropriate time sans any real emotional sentiment.

Research tells us that only about half of us routinely thank our family members (and that number gets even worse in the workplace!). And yet gratitude, at its core, is how we acknowledge our connections with others and demonstrate our awareness that somebody or something has made our lives a little bit better. Human nature is to focus on the bad, scary, unpleasant things that jostle us out of our comfort zones. We can balance our negativity bias by practicing intentional gratitude.  And we can start that process early by helping our children understand that appreciation comes in lots of shapes and sizes and can even coexist with other emotions.

"Thank You! A Children's Book about Gratitude… all year long!"  does exactly that. With easy-to-understand language and eye-catching photographs, children can start to see a variety of ways that "thank you" shows up in our lives – not just when the family gathers for a big meal in the fall, but all year long.

"Thank You!"  is the perfect gift for teachers, new parents, and other caregivers. Developing our emotional intelligence is a lifelong journey, and this book helps us take those very first steps.  Now available on Amazon, Kindle e-book, paperback, or hardcover editions are available.

Dr. Sarah Ratekin is a gratitude researcher, corporate employee engagement and well-being consultant, accomplished public speaker, and author of "Silver Threads: Living a Life of Gratitude" and the popular Silver Threads Gratitude Journals. She has appeared on podcasts all around the world discussing the science behind how organizations can create happier, healthier workplace cultures.

For more information or to connect with or book Dr. Ratekin for your next event, please visit https://happinessiscourage.com