Every parent wants their child to grow up to be polite. There’s a desire to have a polite child, but sometimes getting to that point can be difficult. These tips will help you raise a child who is not only polite, but also has manners.
Children Learn by Seeing
In case you haven’t noticed, most children will mock what they see their parents and siblings do. It’s important for everyone in the family to use their manners as much as possible. Saying “please” and “thank you” are just the first steps in showing your child how to be polite. How you react to situations is also very important.
Show Children How to Respect Others
No one is perfect, everyone gets that. However, respect is an important part of teaching your child about manners. Respect can be anything from sharing toys to waiting in line properly at the bus stop. Talk to your child about what respect means and how that can help them make good choices every day.
Always Start Early
It is never too early to start teaching your child about manners. You can start by teaching your child how to say please and thank you. Teach your child how to also properly ask for items. Instead of allowing them to say “Gimme”, teach them to say “May I please?” This will take some patience on the parent’s side, but it will be well worth it. Even if you have to be that parent that reminds their child to say please, thank you, and “May I”, it is totally worth it.
Talk about it
Sometimes it’s not enough to just tell your child to do something, they need to know why they should do it. Talk about manners to your child and how not being polite can hurt others’ feelings. Everyone feels sad when someone is rude to them, so it’s important to be polite and use manners whenever possible.
Give Understanding When Possible
Always understand that being polite and having manners is quite the process. Even though you may start teaching your child early, it will still be quite the process. Always use gentle friendly reminders when you’re reinforcing the idea of being polite. Watch videos with your child that model proper polite behavior. Always reinforce the lesson by talking about what they saw on the video and how they can put it into action.
Don’t feel defeated if it takes a while for your child to catch on to using their manners on their own. At least you’re trying to encourage your child to do what is best. A gentle reminder here and there is sometimes all you can do.
How do you go about teaching your own children manners, what tips do you have to share?
