The art of teaching your children happiness is so complex. Yet something, as parents we all want to instill. We know happiness doesn't come from sprinkling some kind of magic dust, but wondered if there are key strategies that will support parents in their quest to instill happiness from within for their children. Moving away from the instant gratification children tend to seek in today's material things, only to be deceived with fleeting momentary pleasure.  Dr. Laura Markham had some fantastic suggestions to share! Here’s some things we learned:

Happiness is closely linked to three kinds of HABITS:

1.) How we think and feel about the world, and therefore perceive our experiences.

2.) Certain actions or habits, such as regular exercise, eating healthfully, meditating and even, regularly smiling and laughing!

3.) Character traits such as self-control, industry, fairness, citizenship, wisdom, courage, leadership and honesty.

So in life, these character traits are pretty much JUST HABITS, therefore if we put them into action in our own life, the better our lives will work, the better we will feel about ourselves--- and the happier we’ll be. Some of the habits that create happiness are visible. Others are more personal habits of self-management that insulate us from unhappiness and create joy in our lives, such as managing our moods and cultivating optimism.

HOW CAN WE help our children begin to develop and keep such habits that lead to happiness?

Here is a short list that might inspire your success:

1. Teach your children constructive habits to CONTROL THEIR MINDS and create happiness: managing our moods, positive self-talk, cultivating optimism, celebrating life, practicing gratitude, and appreciating connected-ness to each other and our universe.

2. Teach your children the SELF-MANAGEMENT HABITS that create happiness: regular exercise, healthy eating, and meditation are all highly correlated with happiness levels.

3. Teach your child to find joy in EVERYDAY THINGS. Studies show that individuals who notice the small miracles of daily life, AND ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE TOUCHED BY THEM, are happier. By teaching our kids to stop and take in a sunset, listen to the birds, notice flowers blooming is also teaching them happiness.

4. Cultivate FUN! The old saying that laughter is the best medicine, is actually true. The more we laugh, the happier we are, so do things that make you smile and laugh!

5. Help your child develop GRATITUDE, by counteracting the message that happiness can be bought. As parents, we need to remember that we are not the only ones teaching our children about life. Our media constantly messages to them that the goal of life is more money and more things. Ultimately, what we model and what we tell them will matter more, but we need to confront those destructive messages directly.

6. Help your children learn the JOY OF CONTRIBUTION. Our job as parents is to find ways for them to make a positive difference in the world so they can enjoy and learn from this experience.