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My family has always been very big on politeness. We always says please, thank you, and you’re welcome. If someone sneezes, we say, “Bless you.” If you burp or pass gas, you say, “Excuse me,” and those around you reply, “Certainly.”
Setting a good example is the best way to teach your child manners. Even from a very early age, they will start to understand that there are certain ways to behave and be polite.
TJ started saying thank you a while ago. He didn’t always know how to use it properly, but he does now. “Please” followed soon after, and he knows that liberal use of pweeeeeease is far more likely to get him what he wants than throwing a temper tantrum – although that still happens, too.
There’s nothing like having him toddle up to me with his empty cup in hand and hearing him say, “Mommy, more apple juice? Pweeeease…” And then having him tug on my sleeve to say, “Thank you, Mommy,” afterward – unprompted. He did that last night.
You have to be consistent about politeness. Make sure you say please and thank you when you order your food at restaurants, even if you’re at McDonald’s. That’s how the little ones learn, and it’s good for you, too.
Daddies may have a harder time remembering to say excuse me than, perhaps, good one after a burp, but try to keep at it. Little boys, I’ve found, need little encouragement to find bodily functions hysterical. TJ will say excuse me with prompting, but repeats it about a dozen times, giggling the whole time after gas escapes his body. He’ll do the same with excuse you if someone else happens to burp.
I never really realized that we’re also polite about saying no thank you when turning something down until TJ started saying it. We ask him if he wants chicken for dinner? No thank you. Grilled cheese? No thank you. Macaroni and cheese? No thank you. Bread? Bread! The constant string of no thank yous can be frustrating, but it’s better than having him just scream and throw food on the floor when he doesn’t want it.
Then there’s the new use he found for no thank you. Whenever he doesn’t like something, that’s what he says. If he doesn’t want to put a shirt on, or have me wipe his nose with a Kleenex, or get out of the bath tub, it’s no thank you. When he’s doing something bold and I tell him to look at me so I can tell him what he’s doing wrong, it’s no thank you! no thank you! no thank you! It can be infuriating but hard to keep from laughing at the same time!
Teach them their manners while they’re still young, and you’ll be getting compliments from strangers in restaurants and other public places when your little ones say please and thank you!
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
