Let’s face it, the simplest habit we were taught as children was to always say thank you, but somewhere along the way to adulthood our memory cards involuntarily moved the “Manners Folder” into the trash. That’s not to say, however, that teenagers don’t appreciate the things we have or what others do for us.

To generalize all of us into a category as “ungrateful” is harsh, stereotypical, and a bit rude. Though we may not actually verbalize our appreciation with every action someone does for us, that’s not to say we don’t deep down have gratitude for it. But we may have reached a point where we now assume that things will get done because it simply needs to be done–which makes it easy to forget to thank the person who has done the work.

That’s not just teenagers; I’ve known an adult or two in my time to not thank me for, let’s say, emptying the dishwasher. We all can be ungrateful, so why is the finger point directly at teens?

It’s not that we’re ungrateful (and calling us that is an insult that no one would take kindly).  But sometimes it just slips our mind that maybe others would appreciate a thank-you for the effort they put forth on a task they’ve done for us.

If you have a problem with a teen who isn’t thanking you for every act you do for us, try telling them “thank you” once or twice when they do something for you.

If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, or in terms that fit the gratitude topic, if you don’t have a thank-you to say, don’t ask for something to be done in the first place.