Parents are facing problems with children when it comes to their socialization and teaching them how to behave. But there are few tips and tricks to overcome those difficulties.

Manners are important

Only three words can make the difference. I love you is one of those words but what we mean are those other three words. “Thank you” and “please.” Even children who are 18 months old can learn the basic things of politeness. It is the perfect time to start because the child starts to make judgments about the value and this is the time to teach him/her to use the word “please” and “thank you”. You may have problems with 2-year-olds because they have the rebel spirit inside them but a 3-year-old can be a child who likes to please its parents with politeness. Usually, they don’t fully understand what those words mean, but you can teach them later. It will become a habit to say these words, so the understanding of them will come later.

The question that we ask so we can remind them is usually “What do you say?”. It might be difficult at first but just remind them over and over and eventually, you will make it. The first thing that comes to your mind is, why can’t they understand what am I doing for them? I clean, cook, shop, etc. Well, the thing is they don’t feel empathy at a certain age. Most of them can’t appreciate the effort you are making for them. So in their eyes, it is a normal thing. It is usually at the age of 10. But we don’t have to wait until then to star teaching some ground rules.

By the way, when you go to the store, stop for a moment and pay attention to what are people saying. You don’t hear thank you or please. They only say “I want that” or “give me that.” We can’t influence other people especially if they are grown-ups, but we can teach our children how to behave. And that is a good start.

Where is the best place to start this practice?

The perfect place and time are at family dinner. There you can teach them manners; you can always correct them or reinforce manners in your children, and of course, you can build a frame for empathy. We do that by giving them a task to help clean up the table or to cook with us or something else. Since you child can see what he/she has, you could easily show them what the word thank you means. They know they have this food and they should always thank you for it because you provided it. In time the child will understand why the word thanks to you and what it means. They will slowly learn who produced that food, who brought it to the market, how mommy cooked it, how daddy served it etc.
Make sure the child or children are listening because all your effort will be in vein if that information is not absorbed well enough.