How To: Teach Your Kids Good Manners Parents Families.com

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.”– Emily Post

In 365 Ways to Help Your Children Grow, the authors offer many wonderful activities aimed at teaching kids manners. Here are some of my favorites.

(1) Top Ten Manners

Your kids will look to you for guidance on how they should behave. When teaching manners, make sure you brush up on your own. Make a list of ten manners you want each of your kids to have and work on one manner a week. Post the manner where your child can see it and remember to give positive feedback, including feedback on the old manners that they have mastered.

(2) Simon Says Please

This game is a twist on Simon Says except the leader says “please” before the command and “thank you” when the command is followed. If the leader fails to say “thank you” then they are out.

(3) Mealtime Manners

Here are some common manners most people follow during mealtimes:

Asking for food to be passed

Proper use of utensils

Elbows off the table

No chewing with mouth open

Saying please and thank you

Waiting for the cook to be seated before starting to eat

(4) Don’t Say Don’t

When communicating with your kids it’s best not to make negative comments like, “don’t answer the phone like that”, because it puts your kids on the defensive. A better way to communicate would be to say something like, “I like it when you answer the phone in a clear voice like this.”

(5) Signal an Interruption

As any parent can attest, a child will interrupt you while you are on the phone or in conversation with another adult. Instead of correcting them in front of others and possibly embarrassing them, work out a signal beforehand that you can use when they interrupt. Examples include, a hand to the ear, snapping your fingers or a finger to your mouth.

Remember that manners have to be practiced in order for kids to learn them. They also have to be modeled. As kids watch the adults around them practicing good manners their behavior will improve.