1.BE AN INSPIRING ROLE MODEL. Start by setting an example — something that's easier in theory than in practice. (How faithfully do you write your thank-you notes?) It may sound simplistic, but the best way to have polite kids is to be polite. And at age 2, your child wants nothing more than to be like Mom and Dad.

2.START WITH THE BASICS. Saying "please" and "thank you" is usually the first bit of courtesy any parent tries to teach, and you can start as soon as your child is using some words to communicate, usually sometime after the first year. It's going to be a long time before she gets "please" and "thank you" down, but once your toddler starts talking you'll probably find yourself automatically tacking on the polite words and pausing for her to repeat them.

3.ASK HER TO JOIN YOU AT THE TABLE. Learning to sit still for more than five minutes straight is a major achievement for a 2-year-old, so try never to put yourself in a situation where disaster will strike if your child wiggles or wails.

4.ENCOURAGE POLITE GREETINGS. At 2 years old, your child can certainly learn to say "hello" when arriving for visits or meeting new people and "goodbye" when it's time to depart. She will be wildly unreliable about it, saying "Hello" very sweetly on one occasion and then collapsing into shyness or bursting into tears on the next.But in general it's a good move to teach these salutations because they pave the way for the more advanced stuff, like "Nice to meet you" and shaking hands.


5.GREETING AND GENERAL MORALS.If you want to teach your child how to greet,you should first show example by greeting at home either to your spouse,relations,neighbors and people you see around you.The child is watching and will surely imitate anything you do.
Abusive words should not be found in and around your home,because they kids end up picking those words without knowing what it means.And by so doing it becomes a part of them.

6.PRAYER AND RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES-The bible says we should train up a child in the way he should go,and when he is old he will not depart from it.Start early to introduce prayers to your toddler (before meals,morning or night devotion by the family,etc),teach them simple prayers that they can remember and also get them involved in church activities ( to build their foundation and understanding of God).

REMEMBER,ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN VOICE...IF YOU MUST TEACH YOUR KID,LET IT FIRST BE WHAT YOU DO

nice writeup

"There is every need to keep explaining to the youngsters around us the ways of life......BUT keep in mind, your life itself is a part of the explanation"

Nice one Debbie.

thanks,

driand: nice writeup

You are very right. You know, my one and a half year old boy always says 'thank you sir' whenever if is given anything. He copied this from his older siblings who do the same everytime they are given anything. He says this to everybody, even if the person that gives him something is a woman.

Very true,they learn faster than we think....

jnrbayano: "There is every need to keep explaining to the youngsters around us the ways of life......BUT keep in mind, your life itself is a part of the explanation"

Nice one Debbie.

This is the kind of post I love reading on NL

Learning to sit still is always a big issue.

Educative writeup..,love it!..,The baby in my house prays before eating his food even if he feeds himself..,He go sha close eye stretch hands on d food and say some tins cos we always do same..,Kids learn quickly so its imperative we teach dm d rite tin..,Am glad schl has resumed cos he started speaking too much pidgin dis summer gotten frm his friends outsde he plays wit..lolz..,Love em kids!

By example!
Period!

Correct!!!

Lovely write up.....what's the "sit up" thing?

otodeluxe: This is the kind of post I love reading on NL

Surprisingly, a lot of people would just view and walk away...


Nice one. Parents, practise what you preach.

debbie:
thanks,

Aunty Debbie, gud afternoon

I wud appreciate if I can get a reply from you..

Thank u

Nice one!

In a nutshell, teach by example.

I like the part where you wrote that sitting still for 5 minutes is a major achievement for a 2-year-old. Parents should have realistic age-appropriate expectations.