by Pat Lamb (Author of: Let the Children Come; Children, Come to Me; When the Stars Fall Down; Widening the Church Doors to Teach the Narrow Way; My Thinking Book; Love is….) Books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, www.patlambchristianauthor.com

Train up a child…

Words that Could Change the World

There are times when it seems that our present society has lost all sense of good manners!  There was a time when people seemed to care if they acted appropriately.  We were taught to say, “Thank you”, “I’m sorry”, “please” and “excuse me”!

What changed?  How often do we now hear those words?  I dare say not nearly as often as we should.  Perhaps our children would learn to say them more if we, the adults they pattern after, would say them more often.

It seems that often our children have come to expect being pampered and given things for free.  They don’t seem to understand that no one is obligated to pamper them.  As parents and grandparents, we need to teach them to appreciate what they are given.  One way to do that is to require them to say “thank you” or to write thank you notes to the giver.  

It is sad to watch some children bump into adults and just keep going without a mere expression of “excuse me” or “I’m sorry”.  Many times I have watched children line up for treats and just grab them and start eating without so much as “please” or “thank you”.

Whose fault is it that we have college level young people who feel that someone else should pay their loans?  Why is it that so many times we cannot get good service when we are placing orders or trying to get our necessary business done?  I dare say that it is because parents, teachers, and others are not requiring our children to have good manners.  Just saying the words requires children to think about the fact that someone other than self has been involved in their welfare.  That is a step in the right direction to improving our world!