Here are more tips for teaching kids social graces and good manners.
- Praise your children when they exhibit appropriate good child manners; remind them and reinforce positive behaviors when they don't. Good manners and social skills are learned behaviors, and kids need constant and positive reinforcement. Teaching a kid how to greet adults or extend a handshake, for example, requires practice. While kids may forget, remember that they ultimately do want to please their parents and other adults in their lives by doing the right thing.
- The time to teach values is now!
Schools and child care centers are jumping on this band wagon, with positive results. Regardless of a family's background or religious beliefs, certain values are core to everyone, such as honesty, tolerance, creating success, generosity, and kindness. La Petite Academy, for example, was recently recognized by the Make-A-Wish Foundation as the charity’s fastest-growing national sponsor after showing a 425 percent increase in funds raised between the Foundation’s fiscal year 2003 and fiscal year 2004. La Petite Academy’s commitment to the Make-A-Wish Foundation extends through its 645 schools and 80,000 children across the country. La Petite Academy’s Make-A-Wish campaign not only supports a worthy charity, but also helps teach children the importance of generosity, kindness and community involvement. The company further reinforces these positive character traits to the children in its care with a unique “Kids of Character” program. La Petite Academy offers a comprehensive curriculum that includes monthly activities specifically designed to build a sense of community and caring among children. - Set the example! Don't expect your kids to exhibit child manners if you don't serve as a positive role model yourself. Providers comment about kids discussing "dad's burping contests" or mom "always talking with her mouth full of food." Kids do learn through observation, and think about that next time you're eating with the elbows on the table!
