Our little Andrew is 27 months old and he's learning basic manners. Of course "please" and "thank you" are top on the list. Every time he is given something, the giver says "thank you"....eventually he will learn that this is what is expected and said when given something or someone does something nice to help him.
On Halloween he and his sister went to a Halloween Party at Becca's school. He did his best to say "thank you" when something was put into his bag, but the best he could do was "fu fu"...its a start.
"Please" is another favorite word around our house, "Andrew, please drink your milk" or "please do not brush the dog with grandma's hair brush". As he gets older, he will understand that please is a very good word to know.
Our other "must know" is opening a door and holding it open for others, ladies in particular, i.e. not rushing to open a door and then bolting through it, leaving it to slam in the face of whoever is behind him. Or, if someone opens a door or holds it open for him, to use the #1 word, "thank you".
If a person, male or female holds a store door open and allows me to enter first, I always say "thank you"..(my mother was big on manners too)...sometimes, especially with younger folks, they get a look of surprise on their faces and almost always say "you're welcome". And, I'll bet they have a good feeling about themselves for the rest of the day.
When our 16 year old son started dating, one of his many girlfriends remarked to me...."I've never had a boy open and hold the door for me".....well kiddo, Jeffrey had that drummed into him before he was 5 years old.
Although Andrew doesn't pronounce words too well (after all, he's barely over 2) another thing he hears and will soon say on his own is "Love you"...whenever anyone in our household leaves the house on an errand, we say "love you" . Our grandchildren hug us and say "Love you Grandma" or "Love you Grandpa" ... whenever they leave.
Words like "please", "thank you", and "love you" only take a few minutes to say but create a good feeling for both.
Politeness and manners....Please and Thank you....just the beginning !!!!
Politeness and manners
For the musically inclined two year old!
Andrew is a charter member of the "terrible twos" club. He is opinionated, stubborn, inquisitive, and his favorite word is "NO", right up there with "MINE" . He has a passion for lights, wanting to turn them on and off, on and off...our electric bill will see a definite increase this month. He wants to do everything himself and has a tantrum if he cannot. When I threaten him with "do you want a time-out", he'll mellow out, shake his head and say "no, no". His time-out is spent in the much used play-pen.
Andrew's cousin Mason lives in Naperville, IL and plays in a band, Runaway Freight Train....Mason graduated from high school this year as did the other 3 band members. Mase sent us a video of one of their 'gigs' at the RibFest Festival in Naperville.
Andrew loves the music and stands in front of the TV singing and dancing to the beat. Or, he will pull out his set of bongo drums, a pair of his sister's old drumsticks and whack the dickens out of the bongos, alternating with clang, clang, clang on the cymbals. Its a hoot!
