I cannot believe it – My little Hailey just turned six! She has wonderful friends, and received more birthday gifts than a little girl knows what to do with. Rather than write her thank you notes for her, like I have done in the past, I decided to involve her in the process a little more this year. She, as well as her siblings, is going to have good manners whether she likes it or not, lol.
Kidding aside… The art of politeness is drifting out the window. It’s a shame. I’m seeing more and more kids who do not appreciate when others do something nice for them, give a gift, etc. When I was little, my mom taught me that I should write my thank you notes before I even played with my birthday gifts. These days, kids open present after present, not knowing the art of gratitude. They just expect. It is truly the age of entitlement, and it is pretty gross. Okay, this was not meant to be a rant, yikes!
In the past, I would tell Hailey that I am writing thank you notes for her gifts. She would then help put stickers on the envelopes, and help me mail them. Now that she is slightly older, I had her sign her name on each one. At first, she looked at me like I was nuts – “But there are so many,” she said. As we went through, we talked about each person, what they gave, and how nice it was of them to think of her. She then signed her name happily. At the very end of this process, Hailey sat down and secretly wrote a thank you note to ME. Best thank you note I ever received!
Believe me, I have plenty of mommy fails (and lots of champagne cocktails calling my name by the time the kids are in bed!), but this was one instance where I actually did a decent job of mommying. I won’t always correct their grammar, or criticize their choice of outfits (although do they really HAVE to wear leopard print and stripes together?!), but I will do my best to make sure that my kids have good manners. After all, a little thank you goes a long way.
Lace And Lollipops 