Growing up, it was important for my parents and grandparents to instill the importance of politeness and manners in me — it’s what their parents taught them, and what their parents taught them.
Unfortunately, it seems many parents haven’t chatted about the importance of being respectful to others with their children, and there’s no denying society is suffering because of it.
Before I get started, I just want to clarify that I’m in no way saying this applies to all young people.
I have met plenty of sweet, kind teenagers who were raised right — this message isn’t for them. It’s for the kids today who show zero respect to those around them, and who make no effort to display proper manners.
No, I’m not talking about table manners.
I’m talking about human decency manners — giving up your seat on the bus to an older person, putting down your phone when you’re having dinner with your family, holding open doors for others, RSVP’ing to events, treating your elders with respect, saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ — you know, things that should just be second nature.
Parents that unable to monitor and correct this behaviour surely must hold the brunt of the blame.
If you teach your child to be rude, inconsiderate, spoiled, and that nothing is ever their fault, you can’t be surprised when they act up around others.
Teachers today will tell you how out of control kids are, and when they get in trouble at school, it’s somehow the teachers fault!
If I ever got a call home from school growing up, my parents knew it was because of something I did, not because the teacher just felt like getting me in trouble for no reason.
I am empathetic to a degree because parents today are dealing with so much more than *our* parents did — social media, smart devices, etc — but at some point, we need a new rule book.
However, all of these things also can be used to an advantage. iPads can be used to assist children with autism . Cell phones are great for children who walk to school, use public transportation, etc.
RELATED STORIES
It’s awesome that these resources exist now!
To be clear, I’m not saying we should implement “old school” styles of parenting.
Spanking has been proven time and time again to be ineffective , but perhaps parents could be more willing to ground their children, or take away their phones.
Improving a child’s behavior can be as easy as holding them accountable, punishing them appropriately, and setting boundaries with smart devices so they aren’t being used at inappropriate times.
Our children of today will quickly become the leaders of tomorrow, and it’s important we set them up for success.
Of course, no one is perfect. No parent is perfect, and I think it’s safe to say no child is perfect.
We all have our bad days. We all have days where we feel like we’ve failed ourselves and our children, but I promise — we’re all in this together!
