Good manners/good behavior are essential to giving and receiving respect from people from the time a person is a child all the way through adulthood. Here is what Kendra Smiley says about the subject in her latest newsletter:
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“There’s no doubt that children are becoming more disrespectful at a young age,” says Dr. Gary McKay, child psychologist. The problem seems to be that many parents have lowered their standards for good behavior.”
“For instance, [parents] are happy if their child doesn’t roll his eyes when he meets someone new rather than expecting him to greet the person nicely,” says Dr. Ruth Peters, a clinical psychologist. Do we have to lower our expectations?
No, we do NOT have to accept poor manners. But we WILL have to teach our children good manners. Your children will not see these demonstrated on cartoons or prime time TV. So what are some simple, “old-fashioned” manners we can pass on to our kids?
Don’t interrupt adults in the middle of a conversation. Explain this to your child and then expect her to wait quietly. If she forgets, you can hold up your finger to remind her. Don’t allow the interruption but be certain to turn your attention to your child immediately at the conclusion of the conversation.
Say “please” and “thank you” without any coaching. This is important as your child grows older. It is also a good idea to teach the writing of thank you notes.
Greet adults with a pleasant “hello” while looking directly at that person. This is something you and your child can role play.
Hold the door open for others. Practice makes perfect.
Give up your seat to an older person. This “old-fashioned” rule is probably foreign to most kids. You can teach them this by modeling the behavior.
Say “excuse me” even if the other person seems to be at fault. Again this attitude is one you can model.
You may not think that each of these is important. You may be overwhelmed by the list. That’s OK. Start with the ones you consider most important.
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Tagged as:
acceptable behavior,
good behavior,
good manners,
good manners in children
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