Good manners make the world go round

In the past young women and men would have been educated very different with the men going off to learn all about the world and industry and the women attending finishing schools and etiquette training. Of course, this was not the case for everyone and only those children who were lucky enough to find themselves born into the upper classes would have this privilege. Those children from the lower classes would have been put to work at an extremely young age perhaps in the mines or in industrial and clothing factories depending on the location in which they lived.

Nowadays much of what would have been taught in etiquette schools is what we try to teach our children in manners. There is no time too early to start teaching your children these vital life skills and they will mimic your behaviour and will learn to interact with other from how they see you behaving around and treating other people.

There are a number of key things to make sure that children understand and reflect in their everyday lives (as a society we flourish off positivity and the happiness that occurs when you are on the receiving end of someone who is polite and well mannered.)

Do you agree with this list?

• Learning to use a knife and fork correctly is not only a necessary life skill it is also one of the most basic of ways to start your children on the right path when it comes to table manners. In no time at all you will be able to go out for a meal knowing that your children will use the Restaurant Cutlery that is placed in front of them. It will probably have been sourced from http://www.heritagesilverware.com/category/cutlery Table manners do not stop with the cutlery, it may also include learning to chew with your mouth closed, not placing your elbows on the table, not leaning across the table to reach something and remaining at the table until the last person has finished eating. These of course will very much depend on the ages of your children.
• Please and thank you go a long way and many people will notice children with these incredibly important habits. Again, children will naturally pick up on the way you are with people such as the cashier at the supermarket and the hairdresser and doctors etc.
• Good hygiene also falls into good manners and children should be encouraged to cover their mouths and noses when they sneeze or cough

What other good habits do you believe in teaching your children?