Manners... PLEASE!

I think being a grandmother of five has taught me more in life than being a mother of six…. I’m finding with age comes wisdom, and more grace than was once ever imagined. Forgiveness and a non-judgmental attitude is what it takes for a life of peace and grace. I have always extended much grace when it comes to children. But even with my laid-back attitude I still cringe when parents don’t take the time to TRAIN their children…. Almost as bad as owners who don’t train their dogs. When I go to a house and a dog runs over to the door and jumps up on me, over and over and over, or bites, licks or pesters me, this is just unacceptable in my mind.

Teaching manners starts when they are babies, and toddlers.  Witnessing poor mannered children brings me back to the memory of the wild dog. I was once at a house of a friend’s where a very large dog greeted me in the driveway. When I got out of my car he proceeded to jump up on me, over and over again. It wouldn’t have been so bad had he not been covered with mud, and his muddy paws all over my white clothing. The dog owner says: “ooops, sorry about that” (but failed to discipline (or train) the dog). I sometimes feel the same way when I see children misbehaving, being disrespectful, or an extreme lack of manners. The parent apologizes for the child but fails to take the time to train them differently. Forget the please and thank you, we are talking jumping, hitting, spitting, shouting, throwing things, there are down-right RUDE toddlers and children out there…. And I believe it is from lack of training and laziness on the parent’s part. It takes TIME, and patience, to train a child… Just like it takes TIME and patience to train a puppy, or dog. Failure to take the time to train will result in very RUDE children, and animals, roaming your home, and the streets. Puppies are cute, children are cute…. Puppies grow up to be old ugly dogs…. Untrained children grow up to be rude coarse adults. Take the TIME to train…. Teach manners, PLEASE.