Good manners in children are very essential. It’s best to lay the foundation for good manners when they are young so they can be grounded. It is our responsibility as parents and adults to teach and encourage good manners in our children. Teaching and encouraging good manners in our children may not be a very easy task because we have to patiently ensure we emphasize, repeat and reinforce the manners we are teaching them. It pays off at the end of the day especially when the children have imbibed and internalized everything we have taught them. However, as parents we need to ensure we have all these good manners ourselves.
Children look up to their parents as role models. If we want our children to have good manners, we must practice what we preach in front of them. Even in times of frustration, we need to try as much as possible not to let our manners slip in front of our children, because our children learn by the example we are showing them. When your children display good manners, ensure you praise and encourage them. Children love to be praised; when you praise them, they will desire to do better. It is also important that you correct them firmly when they display bad manners. However, if your child is very sensitive, you can correct privately.
Some examples of good manners are:
SAYING ‘PLEASE’.
Teach and encourage your child to say ‘Please’. It is very important to say ‘please’ when asking for something and ‘thank you’ when receiving something. It is one of the first basic manners you should teach your child and this should be instilled in them. If we keep emphasizing and ensuring they practice it, they will get used to saying ‘please and thank you’ without you asking them to.
SAYING ‘THANK YOU’
Teaching your child to say ‘Thank You’ is essential. Saying ‘thank you’ when receiving something is also very crucial. It is one of the first basic manners you should teach your child and this should be implanted in them.
TREATING OTHERS WELL
It’s critical that we show and teach our children how to treat others well. They must learn to show kindness towards others and realize the importance of treating others the way they want to be treated. This must be modelled to them by us because they imitate what they see us do.
APOLOGIZE OR SAYING ‘SORRY’
Saying Sorry when you have done something wrong is also a very important habit you need to instill in your child. Teach your child to always say sorry when they are wrong, teach them how, when and where to say sorry. It’s also important to let them know sorry should not be said nonchalantly, but sincerely from their heart. It helps them know how to take responsibility for their actions. This gradually develops empathy in your child.
EXCUSE ME
Teach and show your child how to be polite and show consideration of others by saying ‘excuse me’ when necessary. They use the phrase “excuse me’ when they want to get someone’s attention or ask a question. Let them know it’s not right to interrupt without saying ‘please excuse me’.
KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING
It is good to teach our children the importance of knocking on the door before entering a room. It could be the bedroom, bathroom, or any other room in your home or in other places. This is a basic way of encouraging politeness and respect.
LEARNING TO SHARE.
Sharing is good. It is very important to talk to your child and teach them to learn to share especially with their friends and siblings. You should let them know that sharing is caring and it’s a sign of kindness.
ASK FOR PERMISSION BEFORE YOU TAKE SOMETHING
It is good to teach our children to always ask for permission before taking something from anyone; it could either be from a child or an adult.
ENCOURAGE GOOD TABLE MANNERS
It is important to teach and show your child good table manners. It will be great for them to learn the following table etiquette:
Wash your hands before eating. Keep your mouth closed when chewing Avoid stuffing your mouth with food. Take small bites and never gulp down your food. Don’t talk when your mouth is full. Use your cutlery, napkin and table mat. Avoid reaching across the table to get something: ask other people at the table to pass whatever you need. Ask for permission to be excused if you have finished eating and you need to leave the table. Show appreciation for the meal by saying ‘thank you for the food’ when you are done eating. Pack your plates, cups, napkin, and cutlery then clean up after eating. It will also be nice to push your chair in when you get up from the table.
LEARNING TO GREET
As parents, it’s important to teach your children how to greet. Let them learn to say “hello” and “goodbye”. They should greet when they come in contact with their friends, your friends, close relatives, grandparents, their teachers or people within the school community and of course they should learn to greet people who come to your homes. They should learn to greet respectfully. Parents should start teaching their children good manners from a very young age. It helps in instilling a sense of etiquette in them, which eventually make them better adults. Children with good manners usually have an edge over others. They develop good relationships with people around them, they are polite, considerate and they succeed everywhere they go.
