You have sent a birthday gift to someone in another state and after 2 weeks you still cannot find out if it arrived because you haven’t received a call or message from the receiver. I have been on the same bus with a woman speaking loudly into her cell phone for minutes without giving consideration to others on the bus. A friend has shared a scenario of a woman who never uttered a word after he politely held the door for her. These and many more are bad behaviours we encounter in our daily lives.
We had a short discussion on this at an event and the speaker said common courtesy is not so common these days. I quite agree. Most people today are taking vital things such as the acceptable pattern of behaviour for granted. Often time, it is a resultant effect of the fact that they never learned the acceptable standard of behaviour at the most important time — when they were children.
Courtesy begins at home
As you groom your kids, one thing you must not forget is that everything you want them to be as adults starts from this very moment. If you want your kids to treat people with respect, dignity and kindness, the early stage of their lives is when you must start infusing Manners in them.
See ideas below for teaching courtesy;
Behaviour – Your kids are great imitators and they take cues from your actions and inactions. As a parent, you can demonstrate courtesy through your behaviour at home. Talk to your kids about the benefits of courtesy. When you practice treating people right regularly, it draws more people to you. Give examples and ask them to make a pledge to do it every day.
Role-Playing– Give your kids the chance to practice being polite using a series of role plays like answering a phone, talking to strangers, receiving gifts etc. Use a reward system for positive reinforcement as they continue to practice the activities.
Reward; Create a list of courtesies you want your kids to master such as saying please, excuse me, thank you etc. You can offer a gift item or snacks if your child demonstrates any of these behaviours to let them know the efforts have not gone unnoticed.
If you want to teach courtesy to a child, use various engaging ways to promote and encourage the courteous behaviour you desire. We have developed some fun learning games on courtesy alongside other values to teach kids and can be played online. Click here to check out our list of games
