Are You Teaching Your Children Manners

Do you believe children today have less respect for elders and using manners is of no importance? I have found that excuse me, thank you, and please don't seem to be a part of our children's vocabulary these days. When did we lose this value? Teens have either cut in front of me or reached across me and never uttered a word. When I was raised and when I was raising my daughter, manners were important. I believe good manners will take our children a long way.  I have been baffled about some children's interaction with their parents on various occasions.  I have heard children call their parents by their first name, yell at them, just be downright disrespectful and the parent took no action.  



Manners are taught and they should be taught at home. Along with manners comes respect. Instilling manners is a sign of respect for your parents and your upbringing as well as respect for yourself.  Who wants to be around rude and impolite children. These rude and impolite children will grow up to be rude and impolite adults. Here are a few tips to get your child on the road to respect and being polite:

1. Start with please and thank you. When you ask your child to pick up their toys, get ready for their bath etc. say please. When your child abides say thank you. Children learn by example. 
2. Teach your child to say yes ma'am and yes sir when they are answering. This is extremely important, especially when they are responding to seniors.
3. If you are going to allow your child to answer the phone, teach them to say hello when they answer and to give the phone to an adult. (It's very rude to have a child answer the phone and they just sit there and breathe or hang up).
4. Teach your child to say hello or hi when you introduce them to friends, co-workers, church members or you have visitors in your home.
5. Teach your child to share toys, treats etc. when playing with friends or siblings.
6. Teach your child the importance of not interrupting adult conversations unless it is an emergency.
7. Teach your child basic table manners. This will be important when you're dining out or invited to a friend's home or family gathering during the holidays. Your child needs to understand that they can not play with their food, slurp, burp, or create games with their eating utensils. If a burp does arise, teach them to say excuse me.
8. Teach your child to say excuse me when they need to pass in front of an adult or get around them.
9. Teach your child to say excuse me when they are reaching in front of another person.
10. Teach your child to wash their hand with soap and water after using the bathroom and before meals. Also, teach them to wipe their hand on a towel and not on their clothes. Teaching them to use hand sanitizer is a good idea when soap and water is not available.
11. Teach your children to wipe their nose with a tissue and not their hands. Also, picking their nose is improper.        

Using patience with your child is a must while teaching them manners. They won't learn overnight, so it's important that you remind them of the importance of manners often. As they get older and they have mastered the basics, you can instill other values.