Fun With Etiquette: Etiquette for Students

Dear Ms. Etiquette,
I am a teacher at a local school and would like to hear you tell parents how important manners are, especially the simple “please” and “thank you.” I can’t emphasize the importance enough at my school.
From,
A Teacher

Dear Teacher,
Zig Ziglar said it best in the following: “Of all the things a parent can teach a child, manners rate very close to the top of the ‘must teach’ list.” When you teach a child from the time he or she can talk, to say “thank you.” You are teaching that child gratitude.

The insertion of the word “please” in a request changes the child from a demanding person to one who accepts the fact that when he or she asks for a favor or makes a request, the parent has no automatic obligation to respond favorably to that request.

The response you will get from “please” will be much better than the one you’d get from a “get this for me” demanding type of approach. Psychiatrists say that 80% of all their counseling is the direct result of parents not having taught their children manners. They’re talking about more than table manners – they’re talking about the whole spectrum of deportment and civility.

The military teaches respect and manners. They are taught to serve before they earn the right to command.

And from my dear friend and mentor, Maria Everding, Etiquette Consultant: “When you say, ‘please’ someone wants to help you. When you say, ‘thank you’, they are glad they did!”

Irma Wolcott is the owner of Fun With Etiquette. Call her at 956-492-4762 for more information. Website: www.funwithetiquette.com e-Mail her at: funwithetiquette@aol.com

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