Teach Your Child to Be Politeby Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger 16 Feb 2009 07:55 AM
Here are some basics of being polite and how you can teach and reinforce them with your toddler. Being Patient Being patient and not interrupting when someone is talking or busy is tough for young children. They operate in the immediate and have a hard time being emotionally mature enough to wait. Once they get something in their mind, it has to be given, shown or done NOW! Still, patience is important to learn, and it will make your life easier in the long run. Give plenty of opportunity to teach patience. When you are on the phone, in a conversation with a friend or in the middle of a task and your little one interrupts, acknowledge your child and ask that he says excuse me. Once that lesson is learned, you can move on to acknowledging your child but then letting her wait a minute before giving in to the request. Tell her you will help her as soon as you can, and then follow through. Saying Please and Thank You Start this early. If a child says "Milk!" you repeat back "Milk Please!" Prompt him to say thank you as well. Praise your child anytime he thinks of it on his own. Very young children may not be able to say the words clearly, but they can attempt them, or nod when you say it for them. Never use the term "What do you say?" especially in the presence of other people. This can confuse your child. Instead, try something like, "Aunt Jane, Tommy would like to say thank you." This is a better way of prompting the response, and in the event that your child is being shy and unable to talk, you can still reinforce politeness. Do you think teaching a child to be polite is important? Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right. Related Articles: How to Encourage Creative Thinking in Your Preschooler Helping Your Baby Manage the Fear of New Things Helping Your Baby Manage the Fear of New Things 2 Learn more about Mary Ann Romans  Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat. Relevantbaby tags User Comments ZoefromGetPottyTrained (10) 16 Feb 2009 08:15 PMI agree. we should teach our youngsters how to be polite even in a simple "thank you", "you're welcome", "please" or "sorry" basic words of politeness. I think its not a hard thing to do. My daughter knows how to say 'excuse me' when passing by and I am so proud of her! :) Community Tags discipline, manners, polite, preschooler, toddler Discuss this article
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