Helping young children learn appropriate, polite, and considerate behavior enables them to form good manners and become more socially attentive as they get older. It’s easier to nurture first-class child behavior if you work as a family to set the rules for good manners in many different situations.
At the heart of good manners is respect for oneself and others. Good manners convey a sense of respect for the sensibilities of other people. When you say “thank you,” you’re taking the time to make the other person feel appreciated.
Saying “please” respects a person’s right not to do what you’ve asked. Good manners also show that a child listens to his parents and does what he is taught – these are good character traits that teachers and other authority figures appreciate. Manners convey quite a bit of information!
Here are some tips to teach boys the right manners and turn them into gentlemen as they grow:
Advise Your Boy to Help Others
To teach your little one the basic courtesy of a gentleman, make sure that he learns to help others. Encourage the young one on simple acts like gentlemanly offering his seat to a pregnant woman; carrying groceries for an old lady, shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor, etc.
Tell him that even such small acts of kindness can make a positive difference in someone’s long day. Your son should also know that even if someone seems like they don’t need help, it’s right to at least offer your assistance.
Gentlemen are honest
Teach kids that honesty is one of the most important qualities they should have. Let’s be honest with each other, kids will lie for the same reasons adults do to get out of trouble. We must teach kids that telling the truth is the right thing to do. It feels good, to tell the truth. As parents, we are quick to punish kids for not telling the truth, but we must also praise them for telling the truth.
We all know that sometimes telling the truth can be hard. So when we reward our sons for their honesty, it builds self-confidence and lets them know that honesty is always best.
Give him his independence
It may be difficult to see your son as anything but your baby boy, but you are doing him a big favour if you teach him not only to be independent but how to take care of himself. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, men on average spend fewer than five hours a week on domestic work, compared with between five and 14 hours a week by women.
So, teach your son to cook, clean, and perform all the different chores needed to run an efficient household, and not expect his mum to do them. Teach him to care for others by playing with younger children or animals) and you’ll also provide him with opportunities to be tender.