Basic manners you cannot ignore to teach in school

The most important job of a parent today is to ensure that their children not only grow up to be kind and polite but also respectful individuals. Keeping in mind this fast-paced and technology-driven world, teaching your child good manners and etiquette have become more important. It’s never too late to teach a child good habits but the earlier you start, the faster they will make it part of their lives. Teaching “Please” and “Thank you” to your child is an indicator of how well has been their upbringing.

1. The 3 golden words:

Nothing works as well as learning through role modelling. Hence we recommend you teach the 3 golden words “Thank you”, “Sorry”, and “Please” by making them hear you saying this every day and in a variety of situations. This is one of the most important yet easy to learn good manners for kids. They must say “please” when they ask for something, “thank you” when they get something right from a young age and “sorry” if they do something wrong. By starting to use these words at home, it will soon begin to come naturally to them later.

2. Table manners:

Table manners are a critical social skill kids must incorporate into their day to day life. Begin with basic table manners e.g. washing hands before meals, putting napkins on the lap, not talking with a mouth full of food, and clearing dishes from the table once done eating. A good to have habit is also involving them to wait to eat until everyone is served. No matter if it is a big family holiday or your ordinary family meal, they should be able to handle basic good manners for kids.

3. Wait for your turn:

Children are always wanting attention and hence sometimes they tend to be impatient. They must hence be trained to say “excuse me” in case they need to interrupt while talking or doing a task. They must also be taught not to interrupt while two people converse.

4. Greeting etiquette:

Greeting someone by name is a sign of respect, it makes them feel valued. Always teach your child to greet an adult by name along with initials such as Miss, Mrs, and Mr. It is important to always look them in the eyes while having a conversation. And they should know good manners for kids like maintaining polite conversations such as asking the person “How are you?” before jumping to the task question. Also, teach them to reply to them politely whatever they are asking.

5. Ask permission:

If a child wants to take something that is not their own, they need to know that asking for permission is the right thing to do. This holds true even if the object is their moms or dads. It’s also essential to teach them that they need to return whatever they have borrowed and thank the lender for it.

6. Knocking on closed doors:

A child needs to be taught that privacy is essential even at home. When a door is closed, it is polite to knock and ask for permission to enter respectfully. It is one of the good manners for kids where parents need to lead by example and watch as their children pick it up.

Literally, education is of no value, if it is not able to build up a second character.
-Mahatma Gandhi.

At Harshad Valia International School, we emphasise and encourage all the above mentioned basic values. The reason why many young children today do not know much about etiquette is that as a child they have not been exposed to them at home. Hence, we have incorporated a value education class as its most neglected at home.