{"id":1603,"date":"2023-02-07T17:34:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-08T00:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/?p=1603"},"modified":"2023-02-07T17:34:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T00:34:59","slug":"why-manners-matter-and-8-ways-to-teach-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/why-manners-matter-and-8-ways-to-teach-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Manners Matter and 8 Ways to Teach Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Teaching<\/a>
Teaching manners can be meaningful and fun.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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“Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.” \u2015Marian Wright Edelman
<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ABC\u2019s and 123\u2019s are the building blocks on the road to academic learning, manners are the foundation for building healthy relationships and social interactions.\u00a0 Children begin learning manners before they can even talk.\u00a0 But even if your highchair munchkin wasn\u2019t signing please and thank you for those Cheerios, preschool is a great stage in life to start teaching them social graces.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what are manners?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manners are treating other people in a respectful way, like we ourselves would like to be treated.\u00a0 This common idea is taught in cultures all over the world<\/a>. \u00a0Studies <\/a>have also found that oxytocin is released in the brain when someone treats us with kindness, respect, and compassion.\u00a0 Our brains are wired to want to be treated this way.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you teach a child manners, modeling is the best tool you have.\u00a0 Be conscientious of your own manners and consideration for others.\u00a0 It\u2019s okay to prompt<\/a>, \u201cWhat do you say?\u201d, and to be insistent.\u00a0 \u201cYou can have the treat after you say please.\u201d Just remember, the goal is to create a mutual feeling of respect for others, so whatever you do to teach manners, keep it caring and fun.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

8 Fun Ways You Can Teach Manners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

1- Play Pretend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Children love to pretend! Role playing and modeling manners while playing things like princess\/prince, restaurant, school, store, airplane or theater.\u00a0 At snack and meal times you can be animals with manners and contrast animals without manners.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2- I Spy Manners<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you leave the house, be spies on the lookout for people showing good manners.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spy someone holding the door for us when we walk in the store.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spy someone letting us go in front of them into the elevator.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spy someone saying excuse me when our shopping cart was in their way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3- Host a Tea Party<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cucumber sandwiches and strawberry lemonade in a fancy plastic cup can create a fun atmosphere to practice polite eating.\u00a0 Invite some friends and give some quick instructions on where to place the napkin and how to hold the plastic goblet. Turn on some Mozart and let the fine dining begin.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4- Make it a Contest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For that child with a competitive edge, have a contest during meal time or throughout the day to see who can count the most manners they see or do.\u00a0 Tally up those \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you\u2019s.\u201d Winner gets to pick the music for dish clean-up.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5- Thank You Cards<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Crafting cards is a great way to say thank you.\u00a0 Children can make cards for gifts they\u2019ve received, for kindnesses shown, and for people who serve them.\u00a0 Make a picture for a teacher or a crossing guard.\u00a0 Make a card for a friend who had them over for a fun playdate.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6- “I See You”<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s amazing how the kiddos are perfectly fine doing their own thing…until you need to talk to another adult. Then, suddenly, they will practically die<\/em> if they don’t have a word with you right now!<\/em> One fun way for kids to practice the art of patiently waiting is to have them put their hand on your arm when they see you are having a conversation with another adult and need to speak with you. You can then put your hand on theirs, silently signaling, “I see you.” Then, find a break in the conversation to politely excuse yourself while you let your child have a turn to speak. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

7- Staring Contest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Learning how to look someone in the eyes while you’re speaking to them can be hard even for adults. Playing staring contest can make the challenge a little more fun. Try having a whole conversation without looking away. Once they’ve mastered it at home, you can encourage them to use the skill when they are talking to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

8- Well, Thank You!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A fun tuck-in game is to go back and forth complimenting each other, including good things that happened during the day. While you’re playing, you can model graciously accepting a compliment. Kids love it when compliments get a little silly too. “I loooove<\/em> the way your toes wiggle.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manners matter. Teaching your child how to treat others with kindness and respect will not only help them in their school and social environments, but will open doors for the future success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have committed the golden rule to memory; let us now commit it to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\nEdwin Markham, American poet (1852-1940)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“Being considerate of others will take your children further in life than any college degree.” \u2015Marian Wright Edelman While ABC\u2019s and 123\u2019s are the building blocks on the road to academic learning, manners are the foundation for building healthy relationships and social interactions.\u00a0 Children begin learning manners before they can even talk.\u00a0 But even if … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Why Manners Matter and 8 Ways to Teach Them”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1603"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1612,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603\/revisions\/1612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/preschool.utahdanceartists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}