Manners Madness

Why Should You Bother with Good Manners?

Have you ever seen someone do something that makes you feel, well maybe like:

I can't believe he's (or she's) doing that?

That is really crude?

You are sorry for the person?

Doesn't she (or he) know better?

Doesn't she (or he) have any manners?

Awful?

-or just plain "YUCK"?

 

Have you ever heard anyone say something that makes you:

Cringe?

Feel uncomfortable?

Sorry for someone?

Like the person doesn't like you?

Like the person doesn't want you to be around him or her?

Sorry for that person?

 

Have you ever felt like:

You don't know what to do when you receive an invitation?

You don't know what to say?

You don't know which fork to use at a fancy dinner?

You don't know how to be friends with someone your friends don't like?

You don't know what to say when you receive a present you don't really like?

 

Certainly you can answer some of these questions with "YES!" Although good manners can't solve all problems, learning to use proper manners can help you feel better, make more friends and be a good friend, and get along really well at home and in school.

The two basic reasons for learning good manners are:

1. Having good manners helps you to be a person who is pleasant to be around. You don't chew with your mouth open. UGH! YUCKY! You wipe your mouth with your napkin after eating something greasy. Then when you take a drink from a glass of water, you don't get those awful lip smudges around the top of the glass and the little greasies floating in your water. RE-PULSIVE!

2. Good manners means using common sense, knowing what to do when, and being thoughtful. When you see someone with lots of packages about to come to a closed door, isn't holding the door for this person common sense? When you get a seat on a bus, airplane shuttle or whatever, and an elderly person didn't get a seat, isn't giving your seat to that person common sense? After you use a knife to spread butter on your bread, doesn't it make sense to place the knife across a plate and not on the tablecloth where it can make a mess and create stains, too?