Surely teaching your child good manners

Is an essential role in parenting

A Please and Thankyou where appropriate

Polite and Respectful conversation

Aren't we supposed to be teaching them this

Even etiquette and social skills

Why is it all going wrong ?????

Working in a school definitely gives you an insight into what a sorry world this is going to be if we don't get back to basics when teaching our children at home.

Frequently I am amazed that children as old as 8 or 9 years old, have no idea how to use a knife and fork !!!!
Not only do they not only have no idea which hand to hold the cutlery in, some of them need help cutting their food, the youngest child in my school is 7, why has no one taught them basics like that???
With every sitting we do there are at least half a dozen children who collect their meal, then sit at the table eating with their fingers, they haven't even bothered to pick up their cutlery as they say they don't need it !!!!

Some of the rules we have to enforce in my school dining hall are:
Don't stand up when eating
Don't play fight with those sitting next to you at the table
Don't spit your food on the floor
Make sure you sit nicely on the chair with the chair pushed under the table
Don't tip your chair onto two legs

Its so sad to know that children with no table manners must be of the generation where it is common to have a plate on the floor whilst watching TV.........at least this is what the children tell us when we ask why they can't sit nicely at a table.

A recent conversation I had with one 8 year old boy went like this:
"Cutlery!"
"I beg your pardon??"
"Cutlery!!!!"
"And.......???"
"I need some!!!"
"So what would you like me to do?"
"Get some....???"
"What do you think I am waiting for?????"
"Um...............Please will you get me my cutlery?????????"
"Thank you of course I will!!!"

As rude as the child was, I can't help thinking its hardly his fault if he hasn't been taught him to speak properly.

Another child called me over with these words
"Miss, tell the kitchen lady, she needs to make the gravy nicer!!!"
I smiled and suggested nicely she may like to tell the "kitchen lady" herself.........

Its sad that we are breeding a generation of children that think everything is theirs by right.
Lack of manners in my opinion is a major factor in this outlook they have

Good manners shouldn't be something that a child has to think about, it if teach them correctly at home from day one, manners become an integral part of the way they view things.
They wont need prompting to use words like "Please and ThankYou" it will be a natural speech pattern for them

Believe me it really does matter. You would not want your child to be one of those discussed at school as being rude and obnoxious!!!!!!!