Why are some children unappreciative of the sacrifices being made by their parents? Why is it that many of them do not even have a sense of gratitude?

Having unappreciative and ungrateful children is something that makes parents think that they are a failure in what they have done, and what they do, are still not enough.

In life, there are certain realities that we have to accept. First, you cannot really please everybody, and second, not everybody has a sense of gratitude.

We have to accept the fact that while there are people who acknowledge and give importance to every favor and good deed done unto them, there are also those who never show thankfulness and appreciation at all — even if you give them everything that you have. Why? It is either they are not yet satisfied with what you have done and given them, or they are simply ungrateful.

One Filipino song goes, “Kahit konting pagtingin kung manggagaling sa‘yo ay labis ko nang ligaya dahil sa ikaw ay mahal ko.” [Even a little love that will come from you will give me immense joy because I love you.]

For somebody who loves, even a small amount of love coming from his loved one is enough to make him or her happy. That small amount of love is very much appreciated. Similarly, for parents who deeply love their children, a simple gesture of appreciation for that love, coming from the children, is enough to brighten up their day, because that simple gesture of appreciation manifests that they also love them.

If both love and kindness are given to somebody who loves you, surely that person would be appreciative. And surely, too, that person will reciprocate, meaning, you will be loved back, and your kindness will be valued.

So, if your children love you they will not take for granted each act of kindness, big or small, as well as your every gesture of love. Instead, they will always be thankful and grateful to you. And they will give you love and show you kindness in return.

But if your children do not reciprocate the love that you give them, if they do not show you gratefulness and appreciation for all the good things that you have done to them, it only means that they do not love you.

It is a sad reality but there are really people who are inherently unthankful.

LUKE 6:35 (KJV) says,


Thankfulness is a manifestation of gratefulness. Hence, to be unthankful is to be ungrateful, and you can never please people of this kind.

However, God commanded us to be thankful.

COLOSSIANS 3:15 (KJV) says,


It is very important that we show gratitude even for the smallest acts of kindness rendered unto us. If you have a sense of gratitude, if you have love for others, especially to your parents, you will never fail to acknowledge their good deeds and sacrifices.

To hear a mother lament for her child’s ungratefulness is something that really pricks my heart because I know how much a mother sacrifices for her child.

Since my childhood, I have been suffering from asthma. I remember whenever I had asthma attacks my mother would do everything to ease my suffering. She would run her hands on my back as I gasped for breath; and she was always by my side, watching over me. I would forever be grateful to her for her love and sacrifices.

That is why I pity mothers whose children do not show them any gratitude. It implies that their children do not love them enough.

I also have children and grandchildren so I know the joy it brings a parent if his good deeds are being appreciated. Every parent wants to give everything that his beloved son or daughter desires, to the point that sometimes, in order to buy it, he has to make certain sacrifices like setting aside his personal needs. Sometimes, even if he craves a particular food he wouldn’t buy it because he is saving the money for the thing that his child wants.

Sadly, some children do not realize the sacrifices that their parents have to make, their mothers especially, just to make them happy.

It is, indeed, very disappointing to see children who seem to have forgotten and are taking for granted their mothers’ hardships in raising them. They do not acknowledge their mothers’ sleepless nights, monitoring their condition, whenever they were sick and the nights that their mothers had to wake up even during the wee hours just to feed them when they were still babies. And most especially the travails that mothers went through during their pregnancy up to the day they gave birth to their children, where throughout that period their lives were in peril.

And what is very disheartening is that when they grow up, they even become disrespectful.

If you happen to be one of these children who hardly show love and gratitude to their parents, I advise you to change. Love your parents while you still have the opportunity. Do not wait for the time that you would be showering them with love but they are no longer capable of feeling it. Now is the right time to make them feel how important they are to you.

But children of this kind are not a hopeless case yet. There is still a great chance that they will change for the better. From being disrespectful, disobedient, ungrateful, selfish, and uncaring, they may still become respectful, obedient, grateful, and loving children. How? If only their parents will introduce them to the word of God and the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ at the earliest possible time. The word of God can work wonders; it can easily mold and refine the character of children.

By listening to the teachings of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, with God’s help, these children would realize their great indebtedness to their parents as well as the rightful way of treating them. They will develop a sense of gratitude and they will become more appreciative of their parents’ sacrifices.

And most of all, they will become grateful and thankful not only to their parents but also to God.