When my first child was born, my husband and I were overwhelmed by the welcome our baby girl received. I tracked the gifts that poured in from family, friends, co-workers and clients. I later discovered I had written close to 200 thank you notes!

The love my daughter was shown sparked a desire for her to know a few things: I wanted her to always know what a warm welcome she had into the world. I also wanted her to know just how strongly I feel about keeping alive the tradition of handwriting thank you notes — something my mom (her grandmother) instilled in me.

As our ever-changing world becomes more digital, this dying piece of etiquette will become even more of a rare art. Here are five tips on how to help children understand the practice of handwriting thank you notes:

1. It is important. It may seem old-fashioned these days to write by hand, but it is classy. It means more to people. It is a notice to let someone know you received their gift. It also shows you took the time to think about the gift-giver just as she thought about you.

2. Get organized. Make sure you have an organized gift list to check off, enough thank you notes and adequate writing tools. Set aside time to write the cards sooner rather than later after the event.

3. Write a sample. Show your children it is not hard to do and explain how good it will make the gift-giver feel. Small children can draw a picture by their parent’s handwritten note on their behalf.

4. Sign, seal and deliver. Let the child take the lead in delivering the thank you notes by dropping them off at the post office or hand-delivering.

5. Thank you. Give positive feedback and congratulate your children on accomplishing a big task. Hopefully, this proper etiquette will be ingrained for life.

Janna McFerson is an Orange County, California, native. She is the author of “There’s No Place Like Home…Evening!” (www.fhebook.com) and “I Write Thank You Notes” (www.readynettie.net). Email: readynettie@gmail.com