I can't emphasize it enough: kids need to learn "please" and "thank you."
Get corny - tell them you want the "magic word." Withold toys, tv, anything (even food for a few minutes - really, they won't starve). But make them learn it.
It could save their lives one day. Don't believe me? A masked man tried to hold up a Canadian convenience store this week only to be thwarted by the most common of all courtesies:
The clerk said "please" (actually, he said, "please leave the store," but close enough). According to the Chronicle Herald, the would-be robber stopped and looked at the clerk. ""You're the first person to ask me to leave in such a nice way (and) because of that I will leave," he said. Then he left.
Likely? No, but he's got a point; you don't hear polite requests from most adults these days. And just how do our kids learn? Come on guys, you know this one.
My husband and I have started using "please" and "thank you" to the max - to the point where it's probably annoying to EVERYONE we know - because we want our daughter to mirror our behavior. Guess what? The more "thank you honeys" I say, the more I notice she says "thanks, Mommy." It is a little forced to say "thank you" after every single dish is passed my way while we're cleaning out the dishwasher.
But one day, she might be a better crime fighter than Underdog.
Image: Memphis Memories
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