Children and Manners

Children and manners share a very close association with each other. As toddlers, children are too young to develop sophisticated manners. However, good manners training for children must start as early as possible. You can inculcate manners in your children which can last for a life time. Children trained on good manners from the beginning have excellent chances of growing up well mannered. Remember that the best way to train your child is by setting yourself as an example. She observes you very closely and loves imitating you. You must help your child understand that good manners come from the heart. The environment also plays a wide role in influencing your toddler.

Encouraging Children to Develop Good Manners

There are quite a few ways you can associate children with good manners. Some ways you can help your child develop good manners are:

• Remember to say "Please" and "Thank you" to your child as many times as possible. For example, you can say "Please give Mummy a kiss.". After your child gives you one, remember to say "Thank you for that nice kiss".
• Do not pressurize the child on her "Pleases" and "Thank yous". If she seems to have forgotten them, encourage her to recall what she has missed out. If she is not able to do so, you can tell her the correct way of saying it. Tell her that she should say "Please" if she wants something. Also, let her know that she should say "Thank you" when someone gives her anything. Tell her that they are magical words that must not be forgotten.
• If your child shows an active interest in hitting other objects and people around her, tell her that hitting is bad manners. Encourage her to say "Sorry" to the person she just hit or when she has done something wrong.
• Point out people with good manners to your child and say how nice those people are. You can also read out books on good manners to her.
• Greet guests visiting your home and ask your child to repeat your action. Tell her that it makes people feel good when greeted nicely.
• Play with your child. Enjoy having a game with her toys and use this as an opportunity for teaching her to share and take turns. When she shares her things with her friends, praise her for her action.
• Enjoy eating meals together at the table. Request for someone to pass a dish that is away from you. You can encourage your child's participation by using small serving bowls that your child can easily hold.
• Do not scold your child for eating with her mouth open or spilling food all over. Show her how your partner and you eat with mouths closed and less spills on the table. She will get the point and slowly start imitating you.
• If you want your child to be a good listener, it is important that you listen to your child. Your child will understand that being polite also involves listening to others.
• Concentrate on teaching your child one good behaviour at a time. A step by step approach is a good idea.
• Tell your child that there are certain places where she must maintain silence. Also in places it is okay for her to make a bit of noise, do tell her. She will slowly learn to understand where she must keep quiet.
• Help the child understand the importance of cleanliness and allow her to help you when you clean your room.

The list of good manners that children can be trained on is endless. The above are just some of the basic good manners that you can instill in your child in the earlier stages. You can train her on other good manners as she grows older. Remember to encourage your child by praising her every time she exhibits good manners. As a parent, you have to be very patient with your child. Like anything else, she will make mistakes and you cannot expect perfection in a day. Your child is too young to learn a complete set of good manners overnight. However, it is very important for you to adopt consistency while teaching her good manners.