Good manners have always been very
important to me. If I’m ever asked to
complete one of those Sunday magazine supplement questionnaires, the “trait you
most deplore in others” will be bad manners.
From another driver failing to acknowledge that I’ve let them into or
out of the traffic to a simple please or thank you for anything at all, manners
are one of those things that cost nothing but are priceless.
“Don’t forget your manners because my
Mum’s a please and thank you kind of Mum,” big daughter has been overheard to
say – even to new high school friends. I
don’t think the reminder makes it an unpleasant experience to visit our house,
and big daughter never seems to be short of a friend to come over for dinner.
Small daughter has reached the age where
she usually remembers without prompting and will happily use her “big voice” if
we’re ordering from a menu or buying something in a shop. It’s amazing what an effect it had on people,
especially when she was very small, and she usually got a compliment about her
lovely manners which pleased her no end.
My favourite bad manners experience (if
you can have such a thing) was related to me by my husband. He was in a coffee shop queue when the person
in front said at their turn to order, “Can I get a skinny decaf latte with a
blueberry muffin?”
“No,
you can’t,” said the barista, “but I can get it for you if you say please.”
If I’d been there, I’d probably have
cheered. I was brought up to say “Please
may I have” and my daughters have been too.
“Can I get” is something that has come to us from American sit-coms and
a phrase which seems to me to imply a lack of respect for the person behind the
counter.
Still, you won’t be surprised, especially
as a parent, to know that manners are a work in progress. On holiday last year, we were sitting in a
restaurant waiting for our meal to be served.
I’d been watching the moon rise in the sky and illuminating the inky
sea, thinking about our day and how proud I was of my girls and their lovely
manners, when small daughter wrapped her legs around her neck and exclaimed, “Look
how bendy I am!” Oh well.
Being bendy is without doubt an excellent skill! As long as her legs don't cover her mouth she can still say her p's and q's ;) xx
ReplyDeleteIf only I was as bendy! But yes, I know that if she ever gets stuck in a strange position she'll be able to ask for help very politely :-) x
DeleteThe coffee shop barista was lucky that the customer didn't complain about the inadequate policies on how to ask for a coffee!
ReplyDeleteI think they were in shock at being told to say 'please' so they probably forgot!
DeleteHaha, i couldn't agree more. I am an absolute stickler about good manners. Luckily my children now notice when other people are impolite......if they overhear anyone being rude they turn to me with a raised eyebrow. All that nagging paid off.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely worth all the nagging then! Thanks for dropping by x
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