Etiquette for kids sounds simple in theory. However, trying to teach and reinforce it isn’t always easy with kids. So let’s discuss how to go about teaching, and I even included a simple printable teaching tool to help!

A funny thing that happened…

A funny thing happened after church. I went to use the bathroom, and a mom was in another stall with her little boy. He decided he had enough of being cooped up in the stall. So he unlocked the door, bringing embarrassment to his poor mom. I admit, I laughed. While Miss Crankles has yet to do that to me, her other siblings have. The mother was trying to teach her son bathroom etiquette. However, I don’t think he was into the lesson.

Basic Etiquette for kids

Basic etiquette is something that we should start teaching our kids at a young age, of course. How do we start though, and what are the basics we should teach? I always started with “Please” and “Thank you.” Plus, we would use every day situations, like the mom I “met” earlier today was trying to do with her son.

When our kids are little, we want to be able to get out the door with them and go out in public without too many meltdowns and embarrassing situations. It happens to the best of us though. I have hauled my kids out of a Target in full-blown meltdown more times than I can count. (It does get better though. I don’t have those issues with my 15-year-old now thankfully.)

Since I used to do etiquette tea parties, I made a nice printable that gives you a bit of a checklist for dinner etiquette and some guidelines for some basic etiquette skills that your little ones should be able to grasp.

Speaking of tea parties…

Speaking of tea parties, hosting small tea parties with just your kids is a fun way to reinforce good manners. I loved doing that with my big kids when they were younger. I used to also host an etiquette tea party every spring for the kids and their friends. It was so much fun, and they learned valuable lessons as well.

We all have our days though

Kids are known to blurt out embarrassing bits of information at the worst possible times…like while we are in a public bathroom or trying to order at a restaurant. The key is to try to stay calm (I know, easier said than done). It also gets easier with the more kids you have. I am on my third kid. I just go with the flow now.

I hope this printable helps you in your manners lessons with your kids. You can use it for reference or put it on card stock to post on your fridge, play room, or homeschool room.  Enjoy this printable!

simple manners for kids printable

Do you have any embarrassing stories to share? Remember, we are all in this together!