Kid Stuf

Instilling good manners in children is not always easy nor is it fun. However, good manners will help your child have better friendships, happy family relationships as well as adjusting to societal changes. Children are not born with good manners, it has to be taught. Patience is needed as well as constant practice to help your child understand the value of good manners. Constant repetition over time and your child will begin to naturally repeat things taught at a young age.

Writing thank you notes is an often overlooked social grace. However, it is important that children learn from a young age that it is appropriate to write thank you notes every time they receive presents or have been guests at someone’s home. Here are a few ways of instilling the habit of writing thank you notes.

Practice makes perfect: every time your child receives a gift, help her to write a thank you note. Initially you can start off by helping her with suggesting an opening line, but over time she should get used to the idea of writing notes of appreciation.
Use the computer: kids love to use the computer and are quite familiar with its applications. Let them use the computer to compose their thank-you notes. Perhaps a personal comment on the computer-generated note could add that personal touch.
Make it fun: tell your child that thank you notes do not have to be boring. Encourage them to be creative. They can make a collage, a drawing or anything else they like, as long as it says ‘thank you’.