Do obnoxious children grow up to be obnoxious adults?

While some parents appear to have wonderful manners, their children can be obnoxious little brats, leading to the question of whether unpleasant children grow up to be rude people.

There is no question that good manners are important. In our society, people are expected to act a certain way and manners are a vital element of that expectation.

Good manners are just something people should exercise, should use daily. And for the most part, adults do use their “social niceness” to get ahead at work, when dealing with friends and when interacting with the general public. However, their kids can be a completely different story.

While the parents seem to have good manners, their children can be rude little brats, which begs the question…

Do rude kids turn into rude adults?

The good news is that rude kids may not turn into rude adults. There is a very good chance that they won’t, as a matter of fact. There are several ways that it can play out, dependent upon several factors.

A child may learn good manners when he or she is very young, but stray from those values during the teen years, then return to the values as an adult. In other scenarios, a child may not learn good manners as a youngster but learn them later in life.

The point is, there is always hope for a child to either return to good manners or to develop them as they mature. If your kids grow up with a solid upbringing that emphasizes good manners, these values are very likely to stick with them.

Allow your children to see you exercising proper etiquette

Teach them good manners by showing them good manners in action. Let them see you being courteous, not only in public but also at home.

Treat your children like you would like them to treat others

As they see you use good manners and treat people with respect, they will have a tendency to act in kind.  Most of all, though, treat your children the way that you want them to treat others.

If you don’t want them to interrupt people, don’t interrupt them when they are speaking.  If you want them to be courteous and respectful to others, treat them with courtesy and respect. When you lay this type of foundation, even children who become rude during their childhood or teen years are very likely to return to their good-mannered roots.

Even children who lack good manners, regardless of how courteous and well mannered their parents may be, are still very likely to develop good manners as they grow older. Children who do not have exposure to good manners early in life can still develop good manners later. This is generally contingent upon schooling, social class, and intellect, but many other factors can influence the development of good manners in a child.

Now, don’t take this to mean that you can let your kids run willy nilly when they are in public and act like ill-mannered brutes at home. Good manners are very important and even as your child goes through the various stages of childhood, some of which may result in poor manners, you should still demand good manners and instill those values in your child daily.