Wednesday, October 17, 2012

K R C - New Family Motto

Let's not get too chummy around older people or relatives.  It's still nice to use titles like:  Mr. Aunt, or Grandpa.  Many special or affectionate names to family members also show respect and love:  Nana, Puppa, Poppy etc.    Teaching children respect is a ongoing job for parents and needs to be practiced everyday.

Many holidays are coming soon and now is a good time to talk to the family about good manners in social or family situations.  Put into practice good greetings, good table manners and what showing respect means.

K R C

Kindess, Respect, Courtesy

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Good Manners Equals Good Values

Teaching children good values to live by is the same as training children to have good manners.

We teach children to value their friendships by not excluding friends from play, parties or even conversations.  Good manners always include everyone and make people feel welcome in a group.

We teach children to value generosity of others when given a gift  and we teach them to show good manners by acknowledging gifts with a thank you note.  Remembering the generosity of others means a lot to the person giving the gift.

The gift giver takes time to shop for a gift, takes their money to buy the gift and then the time to wrap a gift.  The least the receiver can do is take five minutes to give thanks for the gift.

Behaving in Restaurants

By 3, children should understand how to behave in a restaurant.  They need to know what foods to eat with their fingers and what food requires a fork or spoon.  They can use their napkin to wipe their mouth and they should know to chew with their mouth closed.  Young children can be taught to wait to eat until everyone is served and to be seated throughout the meal.

It is very helpful to bring a small pad of paper and crayons to keep the children amused and quiet.  Be sure to ask to see the artwork so that the child feels included in the dining experience.

Making a scene in a restaurant is never welcome or comfortable for anyone.  Practicing at home is the best way to have an enjoyable dinner out with the family.  There can't be two sets of manners; one for the home and one set for the restaurant.  Practice and prepare kids for the coming holidays and make the dining experience fun for everyone.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Children Learn to Compete

Parents today train children in many ways to compete.  Whether it is in sports, school work, or the fine arts.  Children are taught to be the best they can be.  We built them up, we encourage them and we teach them to work hard and get ahead.
But, along with those goals, children should be taught to be a good friend, a respectful friend and a nice person.  Praise good choices of friends, praise good decisions and teach them right from wrong.

Monday, May 21, 2012

I Love My Gift

Graduation is coming up, birthday parties, picnics and many more fun activities will be happening this summer.  Be sure to buy some cute thank you cards so that your children or teens can write a note of thanks.  When the giver takes time and money to buy a gift  then the receiver can take time and energy to write a note of thanks.

Little children could draw a picture to send, elementary age could print a nice note and teens should be able to write a sincere note of thanks.  In my opinion, an email thank you just does not work for most people.

Training children to be polite and gracious will help them in the future to know the right thing to do.  Parents need to work with the young people and lead by example.

Good manners will always be appreciated.  Remember, It's Always Time for Manners!