Do nothing gals

Jewish World Review ^ | Jan. 9, 2003 | Catherine Seipp

[whipitgood]

It certainly IS necessary to teach one's children good manners. Two things will happen if you do: people will constantly comment on how well behaved your children are (which can be quite annoying) and you will have to endure sneers from the "let them do as they please" crowd. Oh, and don't forget that you will have to live with well-behaved children. Everyone knows how terrible THAT can be. (sarcasm off)

[Elsie]

but that no one bothers to teach kids manners in this country any more.

AMEN!

Under the fear of 'stifeling' their creativity and child abuse, the hedonistic 'experts' have convinced millions of parents 'not to impose' THEIR values on their children.

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What bald-faced chutzpah!

That's is what parents DO!!

One would HOPE that a 'parent' has some values to IMPOSE first though.

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I CAN tell you that there is hope, as a BIG backlash is coming. Kids who grew up among the 'little emperors' have learned that Gramma DID know best, and ARE teaching manners and respect and they are not allowing the me, Me, ME! demon to ruin THEIR kids!

[moyden2000]

Anyone who's seen a preschooler smack its mother or scream in a restaurant or push another child down at the playground -- only to be earnestly asked by the concerned parent about what feelings led to such behavior -- knows this is true.

She's right. Psychology and Dr. Spock are evil.

[Viet Vet in Augusta GA]

If you frequently use just three simple words around your house, your kids will turn out fine.

These words are: "no," "wrong," and "God".

I am the proud parent of a three year old who has her terrible moments but we work on them every minute of every hour of every day.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I agree whipit! My children have great manners - they are just horrible to live with.........

Not only do they say Sir and Mam, but they have been taught to tip their hairdressers, and I usually have one of them hand our hostess a small gift when we go to someone's home for a party or dinner.......

When my son repeatedly said "Yes Sir" to his 3rd grade teacher, and the moron idiot jerk teacher told him not to say that, we had a confrontation informative meeting where the Principal told me that in saying "Sir" to his teacher, my son was being "different" from the other children......

I should be horsewhipped for doing this to my own kids...........

[Hank Kerchief]

Oh, and don't forget that you will have to live with well-behaved children. Everyone knows how terrible THAT can be.

When I was criticized for the way I raised my children, I would explain, "it's my house, I'm bigger than they are, and I'm not stupid enough to let a bunch of uncivilized little freeloaders spoil my life in my home. If they want to spoil their own lives after they leave, that's up to them."

Of course they didn't. Having lived in a civilized environment, the appeal of undesciplined confusion was greatly deminished. It's very pleasant around grandchildren who say, "yes, sir," and "no thank you, ma'am."

Hank

[Hank Kerchief]

Principal told me that in saying "Sir" to his teacher, my son was being "different" from the other children......

So much for diversity, eh?!

Hank

[logos]

Yeah, ain't it terrible! We are constantly receiving compliments about the behavior of our two children, one now a sophomore in college and the other a senior in high school. Not only that, we're also told often - in tones of absolute wonderment - that they both know how to work and stay cheerful all at the same time. Their mother and I can hardly stand it! ;^)

And speaking of their mother, who is a perfect lady from South Korea, she left all the nurses in amazed awe when she gave birth to the both of them (one after the other, of course). That was because when it came time to go to the delivery room she was in and out, both times, in just under 30 minutes. The doctor turned into the highest paid "catcher" in the world. Then, the next day in each case, I brought her and our new bundle of joy home with my wife wearing the same pair of jeans she had worn before she began to "show". It seems that giving birth in other parts of the world and other cultures is what married women are expected to do; having children is a big deal, but the process is nothing to get all excited about sans the occasional problem birth.

And by the way, why IS a Texas girl in PA?

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Wow, your wife did well! I, unfortunately had some complications and had to have C-sections both times, delivering premature babies....but I can assure you, I was no whiner! At 2 weeks post surgery, I was driving 30 miles to see the first one in the hospital (yes, I know I wasn't supposed to, but that was MY baby!)......and with the second, not only was I driving the same distance, I was doing my bookkeeping work, at night, at home....... lol

And currently, this TexasgirlinPA is helping her husband find a job....... or, we are also considering being adopted...... lol

[AppyPappy]

We have the same problem. My kids are polite and the other kids run all over them. Some of those kids whould be in prison. Parents are too quick to make excuses for their child and then wonder why they get in trouble.

[Skooz]

Bump for later. This looks pretty good.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

That Principal and I ended up being pretty good friends after a year or so, but it sure was rocky at first........

My theory on a home is that it should be your haven...... we tell our kids all the time that this is the one place in the world that we are all loved and wanted - we always want them to feel safe here and WANT to be here........ and it shows too.......

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I just had a conference yesterday with my son's 6th grade teachers...... one mentioned him coming in a bit late to his class, but wasn't complaining and I asked why he thought this was happening.

We all agreed he was slow getting in and out of his locker so I mentioned that he was polite, and didn't shove girls out of his way like some boys ......they all agreed....... lol

[Cincinatus]

Which brings us to "The Bitch In the House," edited by Cathi Hanauer, a women's magazine veteran. This is a collection of essays by women journalists, mostly complaining about the difficulty of combining marriage and child-rearing with their glamorous, high-powered New York media jobs.

Oh. I thought it was a new biography of Shiela Jackson Lee.

[SeeRushToldU_So]

Principal told me that in saying "Sir" to his teacher, my son was being "different" from the other children......

Im Georgia my daughter is thanked by her teacher for saying "Sir." Come back to the South Tex and your well mannered children will be appreciated.

[gingerky]

Your response reminded me of my 11 year old son. He started middle school this year and of course they all get a locker. Well, one mother told me her daughter really liked my son because he helped her open her locker one day when she couldn't get the combination to work and she was getting upset. When I asked him about it he said, "Oh, I do that for all the girls". The love notes just keep coming in!

[FITZ]

What a contrast to the typical American child's standard comment, which I've encountered over years of attending children's birthday parties: "I don't eat that. That's weird." (My standard response: "Tell someone who cares.")

Isn't "Tell someone who cares" in itself a bit rude? Maybe American kids hear American adults speak that way and pick it up.

I've met plenty of polite American kids.

[montag813]

That new moms get up more than new dads to deal with howling infants in the middle of the night. (Naomi Wolf)

Not in our home. Quite the opposite. Man-bashing, as usual, from Ms. Wolf.

[xzins]

Koreans still have good manners drubbed into them.

I remember one young lady who was tutoring students. One of her young charges hadn't done his work and had scored poorly on a test. I asked her, "what did you do?"

Her reply, with accompanying quizzical look as if it was obvious: "Well...I beat him with the stick!!" (Ahhh, the board of education solution.)