Courteous
“Finally, be all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, courteous.” – 1 Peter 3:8
Kids don’t learn manners automatically. They need some direct instruction. You’re going to have greater success if it is not taught in the moment. I think it will be a lot more fun and peaceful for all of you. Today we did some role playing with manners. I had this little buzzer that you see below. It’s actually a magnetic alarm system we put on our doors to make sure the kids aren’t headed outside. You can flip the switch to sound the alarm, so today I made it the “rude buzzer.” We went over a number of different manners. First they would do the rude version and the buzzer would sound, and I’d say “Rude Alert.” Then, we’d try it again being courteous. They thought the buzzer was a lot of fun. Here are the things we went over today:
1. Excuse Me – I put one of them on the car and the other one standing in the way. The courteous thing to do when someone is in your way is to say, “Excuse me, please.”
2. Please & Thank You – The girls had a doll they both wanted to play with. To handle it politely, we practiced saying, “May I have that please?” and “Thank you.”
3. Greeting People – We talked about the proper way to greet people. I walked with them holding their hand and we pretended to run into someone I knew. The rude thing would be to look down and not say hi. We practiced looking that person in the eye and saying hello.
4. Shaking Hands – I taught them how to give a firm hand shake while looking someone in the eye.
5. Interrupting – Something I’ve tried to teach my kids is that rather than interrupting, when they need to say something to me they come and put their hand on my leg. I put my hand on top of theirs to indicate that I know they need me. Then, I wait for a good time to address their needs. We have practiced this technique a lot, but repetition is so important for kids.
6. Walking in Between two People – I’ve noticed recently that my kids have the bad habit of walking in between people who are talking. We practiced this common courtesy today.
1. Excuse Me – I put one of them on the car and the other one standing in the way. The courteous thing to do when someone is in your way is to say, “Excuse me, please.”
2. Please & Thank You – The girls had a doll they both wanted to play with. To handle it politely, we practiced saying, “May I have that please?” and “Thank you.”
3. Greeting People – We talked about the proper way to greet people. I walked with them holding their hand and we pretended to run into someone I knew. The rude thing would be to look down and not say hi. We practiced looking that person in the eye and saying hello.
4. Shaking Hands – I taught them how to give a firm hand shake while looking someone in the eye.
5. Interrupting – Something I’ve tried to teach my kids is that rather than interrupting, when they need to say something to me they come and put their hand on my leg. I put my hand on top of theirs to indicate that I know they need me. Then, I wait for a good time to address their needs. We have practiced this technique a lot, but repetition is so important for kids.
6. Walking in Between two People – I’ve noticed recently that my kids have the bad habit of walking in between people who are talking. We practiced this common courtesy today.
