By Sandra | Leave A Comment
We are having a battle at our house.
Our three-year-old is having trouble remembering to say “yes ma’am, no ma’am” and “yes sir, no sir” instead of “yeah” and “nope.” Like all parents, we pick our battles. He is a well-mannered preschooler. He says “please” and “thank you.” He says “bless you” and “excuse me” when necessary. He is even getting better at asking to be excused from the table when he is finished eating. Just when I thought we might put the ma’am/sir lesson on hold, my husband brought home a new book he thought we would like.
Jill Rigby’s Raising Respectful Children in a Disrespectful World has been a great encouragement in continuing to teach manners. One quote I’m going to remind myself of over and over again as we raise little Mr. Manners is, “When it comes to working with kids, the little things are the big things. And the younger the child, the more important the little things” (pg 11).
Here are more links to articles I found helpful in teaching our children manners:
- Where Have all the Manners Gone? “To be well mannered, our children must confidently meet and greet people, introduce themselves and others, use the telephone properly, become gracious hosts and guests, write thank-you notes, and dine gracefully.”
- 365-Day Etiquette Book Makes Minding Manners Easy (book review/recommendation for Manners Made Easy by Julie Hines Moore) “All manners worldwide, both socially and in business, are based on Luke 6:31 where God gave us the Golden Rule: Do for others as you would like them to do for you” says Moore.
- Weslea Bell in Mind Your Manners, “When it comes to training children to think about how their behavior affects other people, you’re not only preparing them to be respectful members of society, you’re also giving them confidence in knowing that their behaviors are acceptable and esteemed — a head start in the world of healthy relationships.”
Do you think it is still important to teach manners? What etiqute do you expect from your kids, and what do you let slide?
Sandra Peoples blogs about all the fun she has with her family at Celebrate Every Day. She blogs with friends at Today’s Housewife. Find her on Twitter @SandraWP
ABOUT Sandra
Sandra Peoples is a SAHM of two sweet boys and a preacher's wife. She blogs with friends at Today's{read more}
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Oh yes, ma’am, I think manners are extreeemly important. It’s at the top of my priority list as a parent. If you wait until they are three to start teaching manners, you’ve lost a year and a half. I write about it in detail here http://tinyurl.com/b7afpx and here http://tinyurl.com/b9974s
I didn’t realize people didn’t teach their kids manners…kidding, seriously. We have made it one of our many priorities to teach our 3 small fries manners! Our 15 month old says a form of Thank you already. Our 4 year old says Ma’am and Sir. Thank you for your post also. I forwarded it to several of my friends who will appreciate it. Can’t wait to check out the links too!!
My kids have to say please & thank you and be generally polite & well-mannered. (For example, no running through the hallways at church like lawless hooligans.) No sassy tones & attitudes.
I just asked my kids what manners we follow & they said the following: No burping (all boys). Have good manners. Behave good. Listen to your mother. When your mom has something she wants you to do, do it!
I have decided to let slide “yes ma’am” & “yes sir”. We live where this is customary but it grates on my nerves. So frequently the words are accompanied by a snotty tone of voice that we don’t allow the kids to call mom ma’am.
Great post. I am a stickler for “please” and “thank you”. I am more lax at the family dinner table, although my kids know the drill when we have guests. As with everything, we can’t just expect our kids to merely “pick up manners”. Thanks for the reminder to be a teacher and model!