New York Times Article Says Manners are a Parenting "Basic"
A story in the New York Times (January 12, 2009) discusses the importance of manners and how it is the responsibility of parents to instill good manners in their children.
The author of the article, PERRI KLASS, M.D. enlisted the expertise from Judith Martin and her book: “Miss Manners’ Guide to Rearing Perfect Children,”
Ms. Martin is quoted as saying: “Every infant is born adorable but selfish and the center of the universe. It’s a parent’s job to teach that “there are other people, and other people have feelings.”
Ms. Martin has a great point. People do have feelings. Manners help guide us through life and teach us how to behave in the best way so we don’t hurt others feelings. During "Mimi’s Manners" classes, I help instill good manners in children through discussions, examples and real-life situations. Children agree that it’s not right to hurt other people’s feelings and during the class we discuss ways to "treat people the way we want to be treated."
The article takes a medical approach to children’s behavior. I found it very interesting.
To view the complete article, please click here.
