Why Good Manners Are Important

Manners are social skills.  It’s part of emotional intelligence and is another set of tools in your child’s toolbox for success.  You, their parents, need to model good manners.  Say “Please” and “Thank You.”  Stand when someone enters a room.  Know how to greet people.  Look them in the eye (or nose!).  SMILE!

In a nutshell, this is why it’s important:

1) When children have good manners, they know the social skills they’ll need in life.  It gives them self-confidence and contributes in real ways to their self-esteem.

2) It sets them up to enjoy what they are doing more.  They don’t have to worry about what to do or not do.  It eliminates the fear that they’ll make fools of themselves!  No kid wants that!!  They can Relax.

3)  It’s the Differentiators.  Kids with good manners tend to do better.  They tend to get along better with peers, family and friends.

It’s a no brainer.

For more info about good manners in the countries you are going to visit, see the Cross Cultural section of this website.

  • Building Healthy Relationships

    Here’s an awesome list of tips that  I got from a middle school coach.  He has these on laminated 8 1/2″ x 11″ cards which he flashes through every day in his classes.  I love these!

    1)  Positive people; positive places.

    2) Two roads in Life:  pride or humility.

    3) Effort:  Being willing to work hard.

    4)  Be all you can be within your own personality.

    5)  If you cheat in PE, you’ll cheat in Life.

    6)  Information and transformation.

    7) Commitment over feeling.

    8) If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

    9)  Problem Solving: putting what you know and what you can do into action.

    10)  Caring: showing concern for others.

    11)  Interruption or opportunity.

    12)  Confidence:  feeling able to do something

    13) Before you speak, “THINK”, it is: True Helpful Inspirational Necessary Kind

    14)  “Act” your way into feeling … Don’t “feel” your way into “action”

    15)  Be an IDM …. Informed Decision Maker

    16)  What you don’t feed dies

    17)  Do what you’ve got to do now so you can do what you want to do later.

    18)  Don’t trade your passion for glory.

    19)  Devotion defines.

    20)  Win a trophy. Don’t be a trophy.

    21)  Integrity:  Doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

    22)  Perseverance:  completing what you start.

    23)  Humility:  putting others needs and wants before your own.

    24)  Attitude is more important than: giftedness, appearance or skill.

    25)  Get FAT: Faithful… Available … Teachable

    26)  Common Sense:  using good judgment

    27)  Initiative:  moving into action

    28)  Responsibility:  doing what’s right

    29)  Hurt people hurt people.

    30)  Win with humility.  Lose with grace.

    31)  Be fair, merciful and humble.

    32)  Leaders are readers.

    33)  Be yourself because no one can be a better you than you.

    34)  Do your best and don’t cheat.

    35)  WAC:  Watch and Copy.

    36)  Don’t whine, complain or make excuses.

    37)  Nobody is good at everything, but everybody is good at something.

    38)  Eat well  … Exercise hard … Sleep enough.

    39)  P3P:  Put It In It’s Place

    40)  OTC:  On the Clock

    41)  SISOI:  Small Incremental Steps Of Improvement

    42)  Control your attitude.

    43)  Don’t be a drama twinkie.

    44)  We’re all on the same train, sitting in different seats, heading in the same direction.

    45)  Sincere: without wax;  be who you are only.

    46)  Choose character over popularity.

    47)  Effective people do the things they don’t like to do.

    48)  Love people and use things.  Don’t use people and love things.

    49)  GUT:  Get Utterly Tense

    50)  AMP:  Acknowledge Me Please

    51)  86,400 seconds in a day … invest them well.

    52)  SOBS:  Serve or Be Served

    53)  Attitude determines altitude.

    54)  People don’t crumble in a day.  It’s a slow fade.

    55)  GIRLS:  Gifted … Important … Rational … Lovely … Secure

    56)  BOYS:  Brave … Organized … Yielding … Strong

    57)  Don’t “COF” in your relationships:  Don’t try to Control People. Don’t Obsess over people.  Don’t try to Fix people.