awillis
03-19-2009, 12:46 PM
I grew up in Southern California, the son of a Surfer and a Hippie. My parents were open minded free thinking individuals who embraced the values of their generation. When I was 16 I moved to Texas to live with my very conservative grandparents. Shocked by my lack of manners and respect (I called my grandparents by their first names like I did with my parents), my grandfather made it his mission to ensure I was course corrected before entering the real world.
Rule #1 - call people Sir or Ma'am or by Mr. or Mrs. regardless of race or age with the exception of kids my own age.
Rule #2 - say please and thank you...and that included saying thank you for the tacky gifts my grandma gave me
Rule #3 - look people in the eye when you speak to them, and don't lose eye contact when they speak to you
Rule #4 - have a good strong handshake always at the ready, nothing says respect me more than a solid handshake
Rule #5 - God, Others then yourself (Later in the military we modified that rule to God, Country, others then yourself)
Rule #6 - Walk away from a fight... but if your family is in danger or threatened, fight like hell
I am sure there were many other rules, but those are the ones that started me off.
My daughter is in Kindergarten this year and her younger sister started preschool. They are both accustomed to calling their teachers Miss. Jane and Miss Mary. I have taught them to call adults by their last name, and that first names do not apply. If an adult insists, revert to calling them sir or ma'am. It's a little thing, and it follows them their whole life. But it teaches them respect.
A recent parenting survey identified the #1 want of parents is to be treated with respect by their children. Perhaps that means taking a page out of my grandpa's book and setting down the rules early in life to ensure your child grows up with respect for others and themselves.
As for me, I have discussed with my daughters teachers that I would prefer they use their last names or be allowed to be addressed as ma'am.
Rule #1 - call people Sir or Ma'am or by Mr. or Mrs. regardless of race or age with the exception of kids my own age.
Rule #2 - say please and thank you...and that included saying thank you for the tacky gifts my grandma gave me
Rule #3 - look people in the eye when you speak to them, and don't lose eye contact when they speak to you
Rule #4 - have a good strong handshake always at the ready, nothing says respect me more than a solid handshake
Rule #5 - God, Others then yourself (Later in the military we modified that rule to God, Country, others then yourself)
Rule #6 - Walk away from a fight... but if your family is in danger or threatened, fight like hell
I am sure there were many other rules, but those are the ones that started me off.
My daughter is in Kindergarten this year and her younger sister started preschool. They are both accustomed to calling their teachers Miss. Jane and Miss Mary. I have taught them to call adults by their last name, and that first names do not apply. If an adult insists, revert to calling them sir or ma'am. It's a little thing, and it follows them their whole life. But it teaches them respect.
A recent parenting survey identified the #1 want of parents is to be treated with respect by their children. Perhaps that means taking a page out of my grandpa's book and setting down the rules early in life to ensure your child grows up with respect for others and themselves.
As for me, I have discussed with my daughters teachers that I would prefer they use their last names or be allowed to be addressed as ma'am.