Since my girls were babies I always made sure they acknowledged and gave a thank you to grandparents, babysitters, teachers, waitresses and anyone who went out of their way for them. I felt like a broken record…. “Maggie say thank you”, “Molly say thank you”, “Mary Rose say thank you”… and a part of me thought they were never going to get it, and then lo and behold, I catch Maggie thanking her diving coach after practice, I hear Molly say, “thanks for dinner, Mom” and I hear Mary Rose thanking her piano teacher when her lesson is through…. All without being told!!! I get compliments from other parents how well mannered my girls are and it makes me so proud.

Now that the girls are growing into pre-teens and entering the world of multi-media and technology, there are a whole new set of manners to deal with. Again, I am sick of my own voice, “Maggie, put down your phone, we are eating dinner”, “Molly, don’t you want to tell me about your day in school today (as her nose is in her iPod), “Mary Rose, don’t pack your iPod for that sleepover. Go and play and enjoy your friend’s company!” This time around, my manners quest is ten times more challenging. It’s tough to compete with these devices.

I went to pick up my oldest at a party and four girls climbed into my car and instead of chatting it up about the party, which is what would have happened when I was a teenager, they all had their heads down and were mesmerized with their phones. They were checking to see who liked their Instagram posts and which boy was texting which girl, group chats etc. I pulled the car over and waited… my daughter wasn’t too happy with me…she gave me one of those long “Maaaaaaaaaaaam, what are you doing???” through gritted teeth. I responded very calmly, “I’ll drive the car when you all put those things away, I want to hear about the party! It’s the least you could do!” Maggie was horrified and embarrassed, but her friends went with it and told me tales of the evening and who danced with whom and who likes who and who wore what etc. and eventually Maggie joined in too. I was proud of myself that I didn’t allow those girls to be rude in my car and I called them on their bad manners. I think they understood. I’m not sure if they will act accordingly with the next sucker who picks them up, but I think they heard my message loud and clear!

I saw this video on Facebook yesterday and felt compelled to share. It is a clever poem about how we are letting these devices rule our lives while we are actually missing all the good stuff! Don’t let your children fall prey to cyberspace. Make sure they play outside. Make sure they learn how to look someone in the eye when they speak. Make sure they grow into real human beings with excellent MANNERS. Check out this video, “Look Up – A spoken word film for an online generation”, a good lesson on social media and manners!

What are your thoughts on this? Comment and let us know!