Manners and Etiquette
How can I teach my toddler good manners without turning him into a drone?
by the Babble Staff
November 30, 2006
Manners and Etiquette
THE BABBLE TAKE
Etiquette has gotten a bad rep in some circles, and good manners sometimes get flushed out with the bathwater when it comes to liberating children from oppressive conventions. Yet, as a Family Fun article on the subject reminds us, etiquette isn't so much about conforming to social convention as it is the grease that smoothes our interaction with others. Teaching a kid manners doesn't have to be about squelching individuality or making him a conformist; it's about providing a set of life tools so he has control over how he is perceived and can choose when and how to let his
freak flag fly. So how to convey that some manners are bad in one setting but cool in another? One Preschoolers Today article suggests playing the "bad manners game." The final word will go to Emily Post, who reminds us that "please" and "thank you" are magic words and that unless you practice what you preach, teaching manners is a lost cause.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION IN OUR MESSAGE BOARD
-
Family Fun
"In any civilized society, there's a code of conduct all must learn. [...] While the protocol of today is definitely more casual than that in the past, if parents want their children to get by in 'polite society,' they have to be conscious of teaching etiquette in a deliberate, intentional way — without, of course, shoving manners instruction down their kids' throats."
...read the full article
-
Ladies' Home Journal
"Teachers with thirty years or more experience say that today's child is, in general, much less respectful and much less mannerly than the typical child of a generation ago. Unfortunately, unless children learn respect for others, beginning with adults, they can never learn to respect themselves."
...read the full article
-
Preschoolers Today
"With four kids in a family, it's likely the youngest will acquire some bad habits simply by listening to and watching her siblings, especially if she's six to ten years younger than her brothers and sister, as is
true in our family. [...] In an effort to ensure [my daughter] understood when and how to display proper manners, we decided to teach her the Bad Manners Game."
...read the full article
-
Preschoolers Today
"Good manners don't come naturally to a child. Children want to be first in line, want the biggest piece of cake and want to be the one noticed in a group. But children need to learn to respect and care about others'
feelings, and it's never too early to start."
...read the full article
-
Emily Post Institute
"'Please' and 'Thank You' are still the magic words they've always been, and you will be doing your child a favor if you insist that she use them until they become a habit. Everyone likes to be appreciated, and
'Thank You' is the accepted way of showing appreciation."
...read the full article
JOIN THE DISCUSSION IN OUR MESSAGE BOARD
BACK TO ALL TOPICS
