Tag Archives: manners

Lessons in Common Courtesy at the Grocery Store

I don’t know why but lately common courtesy has become a real pet peeve of mine, or should I say the lack of it. So I have been really focusing on teaching it to my children because with the amount of adults who lack it, the next generation is sure to not catch it. The one place that I find this to be the truest is in the grocery store. Perhaps I am just too sensitive to the issue but it has gotten to a point where I absolutely dread going to the store because I know that I will … Continue reading →

Teach Your Child to Be Polite

If a case of the demanding toddler or preschooler has hit your house you just may want to teach your little one some manners. While some people argue that we should just let kids be kids, I think it is important for children, even young children, to learn some basics of how to politely exist in society. I am not talking about toddler who know how to set a table, of course, but saying “please” and “thank you” and having respect for other people is certainly not out of reach. Here are some basics of being polite and how you … Continue reading →

Teaching Your Kids Proper Telephone Manners

I’m marking today’s date so in ten years (hopefully it will be that long) I can look back on September 12, 2008 and remember how blissfully uninterested my preschooler was in telephones. She knows what the device is used for and how and when to call 9-1-1, but beyond that she really has very little desire to use the phone (oh, how I wish I could freeze time) save for her occasional desire to answer it when it rings more than three times. In my last blog I spent time discussing tips parents can use to get young children acclimated … Continue reading →

Travelers Score in Denver

And you thought China was the only place you could find a polite cab driver these days. Etiquette 101 has moved to Denver, Colorado… just in time for the Democratic National Convention. The political extravaganza kicks off in the Mile-High City on August 25th and the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau is doing everything it can to spruce up the place before millions of visitors converge on the area. As the clock ticks down to the start of the convention the tourism group is madly trying to complete training of more than 2,500 taxi drivers, front-desk hotel employees, restaurant … Continue reading →

Graduation—Part Six—Thank You’s and Appreciation

We have talked about paperwork, we have talked about party planning, we have talked about all sorts of realities and details that come up when one of your children is graduating. In the end, after the ceremonies and the parties, we still have to get out all those “thank you” cards and make sure we let everyone know how much we appreciate their participation… While I do think that graduating student needs to take a big role in the sending and sharing of the “thank you’s,” I am also not naïve enough to think that it will all get done … Continue reading →

When a Child’s Friend Has Bad Manners

We want our children to have friends (at least most of us do) and having little friends and peers over to visit is a typical reality in most households. The fact that all of these little people might have different values, ways of acting and manners is another reality. As the hosting parent (or just a parent), what should and can you do when one of your child’s friends displays poor manners? I think it is possible to set rules and expectations for your own house without presuming to educate a child on manners. I know there are some who … Continue reading →

How About a Little Delicacy?

“Delicacy” is not a word that I often hear any longer—especially as it relates to human interactions. We tend to be living in a bold, straight-forward, honesty-no-matter-what world if you ask me and maybe as parents, what we could use a little more of, is a bit of “delicacy”… I know that the word delicacy can imply a weakness or a frailty, but that is not how I am thinking of it. I am thinking more in terms of using some diplomacy and gracefulness in how we approach subjects and situations. As our children get older, we really may find … Continue reading →

Teaching Kids About Making Introductions

Maybe we have worked with our children on how to make friends and how to be a friend, and we have probably spent some time teaching our children about basic manners—but what about the manners of how to meet new people? Making introductions and meeting new people can be uncomfortable if a child does not know what is expected of him or her. Young children can be confused—do they shake hands? Do they look people in the eye? Why is it that there are different expectations when you meet different kinds of people? All of these social ambiguities can really … Continue reading →

Keeping Table Manners in Perspective

Yes, table manners are important. Knowing which fork is for which and how to eat without one’s elbows on the table do matter—BUT, I also think we need to keep these things in perspective. In my opinion, learning table manners should be age appropriate and shouldn’t be such a focus as to take away the pleasure and enjoyment of a family meal. I think that it can be surprising how much kids pick up just by parental modeling—without nagging and reminders, they do tend to assimilate all sorts of behaviors (good ones and not so good ones) just by what … Continue reading →

Walking Around with a Sippy Cup

In the past two days, I have witnessed two “sippy cup incidents” and I thought this might be a good place to discuss them. The first one, I was taking a cross-town bus and there was a two-year-old (or so) sitting in front of me(or standing, actually) alternating licking the condensed and foggy bus window and pouring juice from his sippy cup into the ridges around the window and down the wall. The second was last night at a fairly swanky art gallery show opening for three local artists. I quickly assessed that one of the artists was a twenty-something … Continue reading →