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If you are a mom of a toddler, like myself, you know that your child transforms when they turn 3, what do I mean? Well, Ralphy for example, loved to be held, loved for me to giving hugs and kisses. Now, I ask for a kiss and he replies with " wait mommy, I'm watching this." I know this may sound funny, but I am as serious as a heart attack. Its like, they get brave and they think they're all grown up and don't even get me started on the talking back, but I digress.
Ralphy is a normal kid, I really can't complain. Now that he is starting to have a social life, like birthday parties and play dates, we are trying to teach him to be nice and to say please and thank you and he is usually pretty good with that. Side story- the other day, we saw one of our neighbors and we were about to get in the elevator and the neighbor said " hello Ralphy" and Ralphy said " hi" and shook his hand . The neighbor was so impressed and couldn't believe that he knew how to shake hands " like a man", at such a young age. I had a very proud mommy moment to say the least, but I do have to give daddy credit for that one.
That incident got me thinking that I really want Ralphy to be a well behaved kid. What mom doesn't right? Don't get me wrong, I know that kids will be kids, but I want him to be able to be polite. Consequently, I checked my email the other day and I received an article from Baby Center and what do you think the it was about? yup, Manners. It basically talks about how its important to teach them the basics,without overdoing it and to have patience.
I don't want to be one of those moms that expect their kids to be still and not move a muscle, but there are a few things that I would love for Ralphy to learn, like for example, to use please, thank you and excuse me when necessary and the way we do that is by practicing it at home. Practice makes perfect after all and like my mom always said to me " if he doesn't do it at home, he will not do it in public."
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I would love to hear what you guys have to say. When do you think its a good age to start teaching good manners? I happen to think that the earlier you start, the better.
So, here is to our wonderful and well behaved little munchkins, well sometimes. :)
Kisses and Hugs,
*** NOTE*** Please keep in mind this is a source that I personally use find very useful. I'm sure there are tons out there, please feel free to share.
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6 comments:
I started teaching my daughter very early, probably around a year. She now uses please and thank you about 95% of the time without being asked. I love it!
I agree! It's probably never too early to start (or trying anyway :).
Thank you for stopping by and for your comments..
And I agree the earlier we at least try, the better :)
Yes! The earlier the better. They learn by modeling what they see and by repetition. Great job Mama :)
I always tell my 3 yr old "we have to be polite, even when we're rude". I think it's working.
I never really thought about the how or when, I think we just teach by example. But as far as expecting them to have good manners? Totally non-negotiable at any age, even if we still have to prompt them, we will! :) If one of our kids forget, I can pretty much give them "the eye" and they'll remember! lol! :)
We see a lot of rude kids when we go out as a family and I have to say that most of the time, the parents are just as rude. The opposite is also true - we rarely see well-mannered children whose parents arent equally mannered.
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