In article ,
"Ann Porter" wrote:

Little boy is almost four. We are trying to teach him some manners. Thinks
like:

Say "please" and "thank you,"
please knock before you come in to our bedroom
Say "may I be excused?" when you're done with dinner
please don't interrupt.

We are having varying degrees of success. "Please" and "thank you" are
actually the hardest. He seems to think that saying "please" means he has
to "plead" with us, which is not what we're going for at all - we just want
him to ask a polite question, rather than issuing a demand. I prefer "May I
have some chocolate milk, please?" to "I want some chocolate milk."

"Please don't interrupt" is also rather difficult for him. I'm having a lot
of trouble having even a five minute conversation with my husband these
days!

On the upside, he got "knock before entering" very quickly, and "may I be
excused" after about two days.

Any suggestions?

Best,
Ann




I think the best way to teach most manners is not through instruction,
but through modeling. My partner and I always use "please" and "thank
you" with each other, especially at the dinner table (arguably the best
place to teach formal manners), and also with the kids. It took very
little for any of our kids to start using "please" and "thank you" when
appropriate.

When they were smaller, I'd just add the right words for them:

"Can I have some milk?"

"Say, 'May I have some milk, please?" (Grammar lesson, too.)

And whether they did nor not, I'd give them the milk.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care