Life still goes on even if your child does not say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’, or greet others accordingly, for lack of good manners isn’t punishable by law. Still, what are the positive outcomes if a child is found to be polite and courteous at all times?

It’s sad to see that saying ‘please’, ‘thank you’ or ‘excuse me’ has become a rarity these days. As we hurry along in our daily lives amidst updating our goings-on and keeping up with the world in our respective social media pages, it’s all to common to find graciousness and gratitude taking a back seat in our lives.

As adults, we tend to forget to express our gratitude or display good manners easily. It is also often a case of being polite to strangers but never to those at home who you see every single day. By letting things be this way, we’ll be bringing up a generation that does not possess good manners. A generation that will learn it is acceptable to demand and think only for themselves.

Saying the magic words

One simple way of teaching your child to say the magic words is by constantly uttering them yourself. Children absorb everything they see and hear around them. Be what you want them to become, and treat them the way you wish them to be with others.

Prior to that is of course, developing a trustful, loving relationship with your child. Here are some ways to it.

Don’t force them to display good manners.

That will result in them faking it and ultimately resent you for forcing them to do it. Instead, choose to repeat or respond with a genuine ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ and eventually it will sink in.

Teach manners by rewarding them.

If a sentence starts with a ‘please’ and ends with a ‘thank you’, the WiFi password will then be revealed, or something along that line.

You could always try and wait it out.

If your child does not say it or has forgotten, just wait till he or she does so.

Explain the reasons for saying them.

It could be that you are appreciative of someone’s efforts to go out of their way to help you out, or it shows that you are capable of empathy and this warms you up to other people and they will enjoy spending time with you.

Small words, big meaning

By teaching children to appreciate simple things in life such as someone opening a car door for them or preparing a meal for them, you are teaching them about love and respect too. Children will then learn manners on their own via observations simply because they want to live happily in this society.

When children observe their parents being real, authentic and fully present when they express gratitude, treat people kindly or welcome a favour, they will feel more and more compelled to imitate them.

By saying the words for things that we usually take for granted on a daily basis, it sets the foundation for bigger things in life. This teaches the child to appreciate the small things and paves the way for a better way of handling bigger things in life in a gracious manner.

Simple yet powerful gestures

Saying ‘thank you’ might not seem like much, but it sure does have an effect far greater than we usually imagine it does.

Apart from expressing gratitude, it also brightens up someone’s day. It allows your child to learn selflessness, to be humble and stay grounded. By saying ‘thank you’ and meaning it, one could quite possibly turn a bad day into a better one.

Teaching kids to be grateful, sensitive and kind should not be akin to a lecture – but a demonstration.