Why are there so many children with bad mannars ?? Surely please and thank you aren't that hard to say ?

[mummyloveslucy]

I probubly am but this is a real pet hate of mine, children with no manners.
It grates on me when you say to a child "hello, how are you" and they just say "fine" often in either a drowning or a blunt tone. When I was young I was taught to say "I'm fime thank you" or somthing similar but always with a thank you on the end. My daughter says it and she's 3 and has a speech disorder, so there's no excuse. A lot of children seem to have no concept of please and thank you anymore.
I know I shouldn't care what other children are like, but it makes me sad to think that my daughter will be starting school soon and I don't want her lovely manners to disapear just because it dosn't seem to be the norm amung children these days.
Do you agree, or am I about to be slated?.

lingle - you have said everything I want to say when I read these threads about "please" and "thank you".

Indeed, monkey see, monkey do! It's really up to the adults aroubd the children to show them good manners and how to converse properly with others. Yup, good manners do cost nothing as my mum used to say.

Manners are not everything, as has been said i'd rather a kind thoughtful child who doesn't say Thank you, than a spoilt disagreeable child who does.

As for saying thank you when someone asks how you are If we want to be specific shouldn't we be saying 'I'm fine thank you for asking' Very formal and why should anyone feel the need to thank someone for asking after them?

Surely if they are asking they want to know, what if the child doesn't want to be asked that question? I know i don't every time it's asked.

MY ds is 2.3 and always says please and thankyou, or 'no fanks', tbh i hardly know any children who dont say this, maybe i just know a lot of polite dc

Bully for you

If I wasn't trying so hard to be polite I would say there are a lot of sanctimonious prigs on this thread

Only read op, but responding with a dull 'fine' to a dull question of 'how are you?' is not bad manners.