Nanny 911 Challenge: Say Please and Thank You

Hello! Nanny Stella here, reporting for duty! If you've watched any episodes of Nanny 911, you know that we constantly deal with ill-mannered children and the parents who cater to them. So I'm here to nip that in the bud with you right now!

There's no way around it: Politeness counts! For me, manners and empathy are part of the code of conduct for living in our world that we as parents must teach and our children must learn. Raising well-mannered children should be our number-one priority as parents. Manners are the basics of learning the difference between right and wrong. Teaching your children what behavior you expect from them is a daily parenting process—part of what can ensure that our world is going to be blessed with caring, polite, respectful kids instead of those who just don't care about anything or anybody but themselves. Today, we can cover the basics, with those three magic words.

Your challenge: Say Please and Thank You

Here are the Nannies' tips for saying please and thank you:

• Show by example. This is an exercise for you, as well as your kids! So say please and thank you for every little thing you can think of today. If your child hands you her bottle, say, "Thank you!" If are asking something of your partner, don't forget to add a please at the end. Setting the tone of respect and politeness in the home is where it all starts. Do as I say, not as I do does not apply here!
• Praise the pleases. Let your children know how happy it makes you when they are being kind and responsible. Praise your children when they use the words please and thank-you today.
• Be a broken record. Keep on reminding your kids throughout the day to say please and thank you. If they ask for a glass of milk, wait for the magic word. If they try to leave the dinner table, call them back and ask them to ask you to PLEASE to be excused. Write them into your House Rules.

So to repeat: Say please and thank you everyday. Praise your children liberally when they're polite. Correct them when they're not. Give constant reminders to say please and thank you.

Happy Pleasing & Thanking!

And my question to you is: Do you find yourself having to remind yourself to say please and thank you? And how often did you have to correct your kids? Share the details in the comments below.
Be sure to check in with your mommy allies on the Child Behavior Message Board. Check out these other challenges:

• Challenge 1: Prepare for Meltdowns
• Challenge 2: Stop Whining and Screaming
• Challenge 3: Say No to Saying No
• Challenge 4: Get Your Kids to Clean Up
• Challenge 5: Reward Good Behavior
• Challenge 6: Establish House Rules
• Challenge 7: Work on Your Most Challenging Challenge
• Challenge 8: Take a Mommy & Daddy Time-Out
• Challenge 9: Give Compliments
• Challenge 10: Acknowledge Mistakes & Move On
• Challenge 12: Work on This Week's Most Challenging Challenge
• Challenge 13: Pick Your Battles
• Challenge 14: Learning to Listen
• Challenge 15: Get Your Kids Talking
• Challenge 16: Keep Your Cool
• Challenge 17: Use a Timer
• Challenge 18: Give Effective Time Outs