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