Archive for the ‘Manners’ Category

Are You Ready for the Real World?

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Children are natural mimics; they act like their parents in spite of every effort to teach them good manners.

-Author Unknown

Rutgers University announced a two-year initiative to engage the New Brunswick campus in a series of activities and discussions that aim to cultivate an environment of courtesy and compassion through thoughtful communication and interaction.

“The world is growing smaller and each of us lives elbow to elbow with a wide range of people whose standards for civil behavior may be different from our own,” she said. “Old and young, from various cultures and religions and economic backgrounds, we’re thrown together at Rutgers. We have much to learn from one another, and ‘civility’ is a great conversation starter for deeper, mutual understanding.”

Better late than never…so glad that Parental Wisdom® advisors are working on a book focusing on the qualities you would like to see in your child.  The working title; 25 Qualities, 25 Years: Raising a Person You Would Love to Meet.

Below is a glimpse of an article on Raising a Well-Mannered Person by Barbara Gilmour, a contributor to this book.  Parental Wisdom members can see the complete article (after login), by selecting Free Stuff, Reports.

We will keep you posted on the progress of this free e-book for Parental Wisdom® members.   Encourage your friends and family to sign up!

Raising a “Cool Kind Kid” ®

(Written shortly after September 11, 2001 by Barbara Gilmour)

It all starts in the home

When a young child first says “please”

We follow him to preschool

Where he learns not to tease

Along the way with others’ help

He soon learns how to care

To be kind and honest

And play fair, and share

When he steps outside his door

He then begins to see

That many different people

Live in his community

Asking what he can do to help

Gladly doing his chore

He puts the needs of others first

And cares about the poor

He learns respect for others

Himself and property, too

He appreciates what’s done for him

And always says “thank you”

He’s known to be the friendly one

A really kind, cool kid

He stands up to the bully

“We don’t like what you did”

He’s learned to live The Golden Rule

At home, camp, sports, and school

His kind heart clear to others

They see he’s “kind” and “cool”

This poem was originally written with a chorus:

I’m a citizen of the USA

And proud to say I care

I’ll fly our flag so high

They’ll see it everywhere

I’ll respect our rights and freedom

Until the day I die

And be happy when I see our flag

Fly in a clear, safe sky

Encouraging!

Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®


How do you ask?

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

“The hardest job kids face today is learning good manners without seeing any.”  -Fred Astaire

Visit a household with young children and you’re likely to hear a parent saying, “How do you ask?” which of course is the age old lesson in the use of the magic words, please and thank you.

This week, I again find myself out on a limb, assuming the parents of the Jet Blue flight attendant and woman passenger that fueled his behavior took the same approach when their kids were little.

If that’s true, then what happened?

  1. Are our fuses shorter than ever?
  2. Is technology causing life to move so fast we don’t have time to be courteous?
  3. As we witness bad behavior, do we allow it, excuse it, and even encourage more of it?

What happened is more than simply reinforcing manners; it is also an opportunity for business.  Since the time they were little, I’ve pointed out to my children that if they aren’t treated in a courteous manner, they have the greatest power in the world – they can go somewhere else with their money.

If the woman passenger had done that, we wouldn’t have been reading about it at all.   Everything is a lesson, isn’t it?

Be sure to visit Parental Wisdom’s advisor Barbara Gilmour’s website Tanners Manners.

Extra credit – ask any employer and they will tell you that in this tough job market or any job market – manners count!

Have a great week!

Tina Nocera, Founder

Parental Wisdom®

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