By Please, shop Thank You, site and Excuse Me. How often do you hear these words used? Does your family use them? Your friends? Your kids? I found myself in the grocery store and over heard a family. One child demanded to have an item from the shelf. The mother, order passively, said, “Its not healthy, you don’t need it.” The response only being, “Mom, I want. I WANT!” It occurred to me that maybe, if the child just used his or her manners and said please, they just might have received what they wanted. I have been noticing this more and more, throughout all age groups. Adolescents have stopped holding doors open, stopped saying excuse me, and even burp aloud as if it is nothing. It is clear that today manners are lost. Manners are a sign of respect and common courtesy, which need to constantly be encouraged.
It’s important that parents don’t take on the role of manners. It’s easy for us to be able to respond in place of our children, and not give them the power to use them on their own. One of the best things that we can do for our children is to help them identify the proper time to use their manners, and only give a gentle reminder in order to help. The most powerful things that we can do as parents, is to be the example. We need to consistently use our manners in our everyday activities, no matter how small or trivial, in order to be successful in manners.
We are all teachers and it is our job to help children with manners. Remind them that it can change a person’s day by using manners. It can create a feeling of happiness, and although it can be tiresome for parents to constantly have to remind their children, the manners gained can change society and create adults who are respectful and courteous.
Miss Josie Hoisington