It's interesting that this has been brought up. I chaperon my kid's field trips and there is always one child who complains the entire time about how boring it is, when can we leave, this is stupid, etc. I feel this is similar to someone giving you a Christmas present and you telling them to their face that you hate it. At some point along the way, this child was not taught to appreciate things that other do for him. This of course resulted in a lecture to my children about how to never behave!!!!
I don't think a child is ever too young to be taught to appreciate what others do for them. I always have told my kids to be grateful when someone gives you a present, tell them thank you even if you hate it because they didn't HAVE to give you anything at all. And if you do hate it you can tell mom after you get home, but never in front of the person. I have also always told them to think how they would feel if they went to lots of trouble picking out something you think someone will like and they tell you they hate it. These are small things absolutely, but something even a young child should be able to understand. I think small lessons can go a long way.
It is hard to appreciate things when you don't have to work for them at some point. 3 is definitely too young to have to work for things, but as she gets older you can institute an allowance system or something similar so she has to buy things for herself. I know my kids appreciate things more when they've actually had to work hard to obtain them.
I guess I don't think it is ever too early to start talking about being appreciative for the things you have, although I admit that certainly doesn't mean that my 2 are always appreciative of the things they have
There are definitely times I wish they were more appreciative.
And Kriston, I totally agree that consistency is very important. If you say "no" you should mean "no". Although I admit I have failed at this sometimes.
