By Marci Shimoff -

What do you wish most for your child? A happy life, of course! Parents all over the world would agree that it’s the most important thing we can give our children.

The good news is that it’s possible and science is showing us how.

While writing my book, Happy for No Reason, I interviewed scores of scientists and happy people all over the world. I also delved into the research from the burgeoning field of positive psychology, the study of happiness. What I learned was life-changing! Researchers have found that we each have a “happiness set-point,” that determines our level of happiness-no matter what else is going on in our lives. Fifty percent of our happiness set-point is genetic and the other half is learned, determined primarily by our habitual thoughts, feelings, and actions.

This means as parents we can give a tremendous gift to our children: though we can’t control what part of our DNA gets passed on, we can teach our children habits that will have a huge influence on their happiness level-for the rest of their lives.

Here are three tips for giving your children a head start when it comes to being happy:

1.    Ground them in Gratitude. Studies show that feeling gratitude is a sure-fire happiness booster. Create a family ritual in which everyone in your family shares at least three things that they are grateful for each day. You can also encourage your children to keep a gratitude journal.

2.    Engage them in Exercise: All the experts agree that people who exercise are happier. Make family time, move-your-body time. Take a bike ride or a hike together, or put on some music and dance. Do something every day to get those hearts pumping-and have fun in the process.

3.    Spread the Happiness Virus. We catch the emotions of those around us just like we catch their colds-it’s called emotional contagion. So make sure that you tend to your own level of happiness. The more positive and peaceful you are, the more likely your children are to pick up the happiness bug.

As you can see, being happy-go-lucky isn’t just a matter of luck-it’s based on our habits, which are formed in childhood. Help your children learn the ones that lead to happiness and they will live happily ever after!

Marci Shimoff is the woman’s face of the biggest self-help book phenomenon in history, Chicken Soup for the Soul with six bestselling titles selling more than 13 million copies worldwide in 33 languages. Her upcoming book, Happy for No Reason, is being published by Simon and Schuster in December 2007. To receive a free audio on love, happiness, and the Law of Attraction, visit: http://www.HappyForNoReason.com.

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