x-no-archive:yes "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."

Try 'thank you' first. - what do you say when mom gets you some
chocolate milk? Thank you. And then you can get into - if you want
some chocolate milk, please ask nicely. While I think the words are
good, the tone is as important.


"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!

Not interrupting is not possible unless you give him a turn in the
conversation. A five minute conversation that shuts him out
altogether is an eternity to a 4 yo.

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

grandma Rosalie