“A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself”
Proverbs 11:17

Early on in our parenting experiment my wife began to require our children to say please and thank you at the appropriate times. We had never really discussed this expectation but since she was from the south it was something that had been stressed in her home as a child. At first I thought it was a little over board, “come on, the kid can’t even talk and we are teaching him signs for please and thank you?” Being the laid back person that I am I followed her lead and persisted in this expectation.
As the years have rolled by and the children have multiplied I have fully embraced the expectation set in those early days. I regularly find myself saying, “how do you ask nicely” as a way to remind my children of there appropriate manners. They always know how to respond and more and more lately they have not needed the reminder.
It seems today that manners are less and less of a priority. I have met 5 year olds that say words not even adults should utter out loud. Many times people are surprised to here children speaking with respect.
I may be a little idealistic but I firmly believe the above scripture, “A kind man benefits himself.” I am not teaching my children to say please and thank you to get them a better job, or more money. I think the scripture could just as easily say, a kind man respects himself, controls himself, befriends himself. When we set high expectations for our children’s manners and behavior they begin to see a picture of who they can be. They can’t be perfect but they can be self-controlled, respectful, kind, generous, and a good friend. These are qualities that I hope my children learn from saying there please and thank yous.