Parents have the responsibility to teach their children about good manners. It would take some patience to do this especially with very young children. Parents should know about the basic manners they need to teach their children and they can achieve this through practice and examples.

The most common good manners to be taught to children are:

• Saying ‘thank you’ and ‘please’. If you ask your children to give you something, you can say these words and your children will be able to learn this from you.

• Teach your children to apologize whenever they do something wrong.

• Teach your children the proper way to introduce themselves. Teach them how to shake hands when introduced. They should also be taught to stand up whenever they greet adults as a sign of respect.

• Prevent them from saying "shut up" to anyone. Instead, teach them to say it in a nicer way like "quiet please".

• Teach your older children to show the younger ones how to hold the door for others every time you enter your home or a store. Hold the door yourself by letting others go first and show how you close the door thereafter. In that way, they would not make the bad habit of slamming doors.

• Table manners can be taught by teaching them how to set up the table with the proper utensils and how to use them. You can do it first then the children can watch and learn.

• Teach children not to touch everything they see in your home or somebody else’s home. Just explain that it is okay to look but not to touch unless they ask permission first.

• Teach them not to interrupt when you are speaking or jump into a conversation especially among adults.

• Teach them to share their toys with other kids. It may be difficult at first, but you can ask your children which toys they want to share; they would be able to understand that you are giving them a choice; that would be giving them the chance to learn about sharing with others. In time, they would be able to learn more about sharing.

Always remember that you are teaching young children. You may have to be repetitive at times to show good examples which they will be able to learn and remember in time. You also have to be aware of negative influences that may affect your children. If there are other children who may have negative influences on your children, try to have your children to avoid them by keeping them busy with other activities at home or have them play with other good friends. It would also good to talk to your children as often as possible. Try to answer their questions the best way you can. Let them understand that good manners are important for the growth of a person. Since you are the first examples that your children see, always be conscious enough to practice what you preach.

Jason Ladock

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