How to Teach Children to be Polite

If you are raising bratty, impolite children, let me be the first to tell you the truth. Nobody wants to be around them. An impolite child grows up to be an impolite adult. Adults that are not polite have a difficult time with jobs, spouses and friends. Do your child (and society) a favor by teaching them to be polite.

Instructions

1. Practice politeness in your home. You can teach a child to be polite more by example than by simply correcting them. A child will model what he sees and hears. If your family is polite to each other, teaching your child to be polite is very easy. He will learn that being polite is a form of respect for others. It is your job to teach him why respect for others is so important in this life.

2. Be polite to your child. If your child hands you something, say "thank you" to him. If you ask your child to do something, always preface it with a "please". Practice saying "please" and "thank you" with your child from a very young age. Those two simple terms will become a way of speaking for him.

3. Teach your child phone manners. Teach him how to answer the phone, how to take a message and how to end the call. Teach your child cell phone manners by practicing them yourself. Teach your child that it's not polite to talk on the cell phone if others are trying to watch a performance or if they are dining.

4. Extend your teaching to include helping others when needed. Opening doors or holding doors open, picking up something another has dropped or sending a thank you note all fall under teaching a child to be polite. If you and your family practice being polite every day, your child will also be polite. Children do learn by example.