Manners Matter

I became exasperated raising my kids, trying to get them to say please and thank you. I reminded them thousands of times to say the magic word, I tried ignoring them until they said it, I made up a little song to irritate them until they said it, but it seemed like all my efforts were in vain. They liked ordering each other around too much.

Whenever I came across a kid who used manners well – yes, sir, thank you, sir, may I, sir? – that kid would shine like a light in the midst of a generation that prides itself in saying awful things about people’s mothers, using slang and back talk to be cool. My kids at least didn’t take up the trash talk, but they also didn’t seem inclined to take the next step towards courtesy.

Then one day someone came up to me said, “You did a great job with your kids. They have such good manners.” And after several more comments like that, I came to the conclusion that they in fact did learn courtesy; they just pretended not to have it when they were with me. Or maybe they felt so at home with me that adding nice words didn’t really add much in their minds.

Anyways, whether it is pleasantries, or table manners, or gentlemanly behavior, or walking the elderly across the street, manners matter because they make you stand out like a diamond in the dirt.