Simple etiquettes for your toddler

Toddlers are at a transition stage. More than when they were infants, toddlers are now ready to learn bits and pieces of etiquette to prepare them for life around other people.

But because they are just toddlers, there should be far less expectations on proper manners expected from adults. For toddlers, etiquette can be taught in the two most basic and frequent actions they do: eating and, however barely, speaking.

Use of polite words

By two or three years old, toddlers can already speak basic words such as mum, dad, and the like. It’s time to take it a little bit further with simple greeting words such as hi, hello, good morning, good night, and goodbye. Knowing this will help your kids overcome shyness when in the company of others, and will endear them to those they greet as well.

The enunciation of the words is not as important as knowing the purpose of these words in conversations. It is important to stress a word’s meaning more than its correct pronunciation so kids understand it better. Take not that understanding is different from memorizing–teaching kids how to say good morning perfectly will eventually come; the more crucial thing to know is when to say good morning and when to say good night.

Toddler etiquette while eating 

 

During toddlerhood, kids will have learned basic motor skills to allow them to use a fork and/or spoon when eating. Parents can start teaching their kids the difference between eating food served on a plate and food that can be eaten with their hands. A hands-on demonstration will help toddlers absorb the various proprieties of eating especially with other people around.

 

Maintaining cleanliness while eating can be another challenge altogether. Kids can get messy when eating, but this is not a reason for parents to reprimand them (especially when around others). Teach them instead how to use the table napkin to wipe food off their face and hands. Explaining it to toddlers–and expecting them to understand right away and adopt the proper action–may be difficult at first, but once repeatedly done and reminded, kids will eventually recognize proper table manners and practise them.