Moms desire to give their children the best life has to offer. Yet sometimes the best doesn’t always translate into gratitude. Kerry Maunus and April George, founders of Turkey on the Table, are 2 moms who have made it their mission to teach kids across the world not only how to be grateful, but to adopt gratitude as a lifestyle. CEOMOM Magazine had the privilege of speaking with these 2 amazing moms about how Turkey on the Table is changing the hearts and minds of kids one grateful message at a time.
How does Turkey on the Table work?
You start on November 1 with a bare turkey and read the story as a family. Everyone in the family then writes one thing they are thankful for on one feather. The turkey comes with a whole set of feathers for one full round. For each day in November, the family shares their gratitude message from the feather with each other. By Thanksgiving Day, the turkey is fully dressed. The hope is that it will spark great family conversation. What’s nice is it is surprising to hear what everyone is thankful for, especially kids. A lot of times it is easier to write what you are thankful for rather than verbalize it. The turkey ends up being a great conversation piece.
The turkey is reusable so our hope is that you keep it and use it every Thanksgiving. This year, we’ve been selling a lot of the replacement feathers for people who already have their turkey. People also use the feathers as place cards around the table for additional family members such as aunts and uncles and grandparents.
Turkey on the Table also teaches gratitude through our partnership with Feeding America. We donate 10 meals for every turkey that’s sold.
We know the heart behind Turkey on the Table is to teach kids gratitude. How important is it to teach gratitude at a young age?
We started discussing how our kids are growing up with all of these things. We were working to find ways to instill thankfulness and gratitude in them. Especially around the holidays when kids start writing down everything they want when they have everything they need. We did research on gratitude and found there were so many benefits of practicing gratitude. Studies have shown that gratitude results in better emotional and physical health, better grades in school and makes people more empathetic. When bad things happen people who are innately grateful are able to overcome things easier.
Gratitude is not innate. We are not naturally grateful. It is a learned behavior. Just like with any habit you want your kids to learn, you start teaching them early.
This Thanksgiving season, add Turkey on the Table to your family dinner plans. Place your order now at https://turkeyonthetable.com/. Stay tuned for the full CEOMOM interview in our January 2018 issue.