How to get your little ones to practice good manners

Teaching kids to mind their manners is important. While children aren’t rude by nature, if they’re not taught about manners from a young age, they can grow up to be impolite adults. By the age of two years old, your child will have begun to understand that other people also have feelings, so this is the time to start teaching kids that their behaviour affects others.

10 Tips for raising a polite child

1. Teach your child to say “Please” when she asks for something.
2. Teach her to say “Thank you” when she receives something.
3. A significant one to teach kids is not to interrupt grown-ups when they are talking to each other unless there is an emergency. Tell your little one that you will listen to her and respond to her as soon as you are done talking.
4. Explain to your child that it’s not polite to comment on other people’s physical characteristics unless it’s to compliment them. Also, it’s not nice to call people mean names.
5. Teach your little one to tell people how she is when they ask, and to then ask them how they are in return.
6. If your child went to a friend’s house for a play date or sleepover, teach her to thank her friend’s parents for having her over.
7. Knock on closed doors and wait for a response before entering.
8. Teach your child that teasing is not polite and that she shouldn’t make fun of anyone for any reason.
9. Teach your little one to say “Excuse me” if she bumps into anyone.
10. A critical one to teach little ones is to cover their mouth when they’re coughing or sneezing and not to pick their nose in public.