Mind your manners!
Fred Astaire once said “The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”
I was out to lunch with an acquaintance recently… all was well until the food arrived at the table. She ate with vigor, food spraying from her mouth as she told stories. At one point she even put her fork down and scooped food into her mouth with her hand. By the end of our lunch I didn’t want to ask her any questions, for fear that she would spew her food all over the table once again.
When I was growing up my mother insisted that I keep my elbows off the table. I wasn’t allowed to chew with my mouth open, and speaking with my mouth full was a big no-no. What happened to manners, do people forget their manners as they grow older? Do people even teach their kids manners anymore? Have you noticed that manners are lacking? Tell me your stories…
April 30th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I’m 21 and feel like some of the older generation doesn’t have any manners. I see kids saying please and thank you. I work part time at a deli and constantly you are taking care of customers. I especially hate when people come up talking on their cell phones thinking we are going to take care of them. I just stand there and I don’t help them until they get off their cell phone. Then there are some people who don’t even say thank you! Are you serious?!?! Finally when I say have a nice day or something like that, sometimes I don’t even get a response! So I go ‘yup I’ll have a great day too.’ At least they can say ‘you too.’ I know people have bad days, but I do as well. When I have a bad day there I put on a front and when people don’t say thank you or anything, it puts me even in a worse mood. Those people should take a lesson in manners 101
Have a nice day everyone
April 30th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I seriously think that kids are not held accountable for anything. SO why should they be polite?
Parents often get majorly P.O’ed if anybody try to correct their child nicely, or even ask them to, for example, please refrain from swearing at a park because there are young children around. It would not have been considered rude to ask kids that (if it even had happened!) when we were growing up. Now it almost a stoning offence for the person asking.
I am a parent of a 5,5 and 3 year old, and I do not tolerate rudeness with them. But I am told all the time how unusal it is that they have manners and are well behaved.
It is a sad statement that the misbehaved children of today will someday inherit the world and be responsible for us. If they don’t care now, imagine how it will be when they are more jaded about the world.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:27 am
I am very lucky to have a wonderful husband that also knows how to treat me with love and respect. I usually cook the meals but very often he is there offering to help with the prep of the meal. He always waits for me to come to the table before starting dinner. We always toast each other - we are blessed to have each other.
He will clear the table after every meal - no matter if it just the 2 of us or a group of family and friends.
I hope our kids realize that this not only good manners but this is part of a loving, respectful relationship and learn from experience
April 30th, 2008 at 11:29 am
I recently attended a birthday party with my 4 year old little girl and she wss soooo excited to give the birthday boy his gift. When it came to that time she sat on the floor wih the others and one by one the chidren gave the boy his gift. My daughter went up to him 4 times with a huge smile and his reply was “I don’t want that one!” The worst part of it all was his parents sat next to him the entire time and did not say anything!. My heart broke for my daughter and she cried when we got home because “Tommy made her so sad.” Still irks me to this day that his parents did not address his poor manners! I am adamant about having good manners and my daughter shines every day because of hers. So sad it has come to this.
April 30th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I was listening to someone call in about children being loud and and active in public places and I wanted to respond. I work with mentally ill children within the community and for the most part these kids look and act like the average child; however, they can be thrown into a frenzy by the simplest things. When I am with a child prone to outbursts and he or she begins to cry and crawl on the ground or throw a fit in Chuck E Cheese or Wegmans it is so embarrassing. I know this child has a mental health diagnosis but the judgmental people walking by who think I’m a horrible caretaker don’t know that and the staring and whispering only makes it worse.
I am all for manners and when the kids I work with are not in a crisis they are being taught all sorts of social skills. However, there are many many many children who participate in normal community activities with bi-polar, depression, oppositional defiance, etc. and I wish people were more aware of that. In fact I wish people would see that as a positive because playing on a community soccer team as a child with emotional disturbances is an amazing feat and those children should be praised for their accomplishments!