Say nicely for me...

When Alder was small... maybe about 2 years old, whenever something was said to him which he would percieve as impolite or rude, he would scrunch up his face and demand... 'Say nicely for me' and until it was complied to, he wouldn't budge.

What a lovely rule to apply in life... 'Say nicely'... honestly, it's such a simple rule that it seems so weird to say it aloud even. How many times have we noticed that a kind word stems, if not dispels anger and that you can really catch more flies with honey than with vinegar!

We teach our children so many skills which we hope will take them far in their careers, how to be smart, discerning, dedicated, focused and such. We teach them what we think we lack and hope that they will pick a skill set that we admire in other people. We want them to ape the best of us and climb the ladder of success early in life. We enrol them in courses which we believe will add on to their existing repertoire. I know parents who are extremely competitive and I guess successful adults are products of parents who take immense interest in and charter their childrens career paths.

Phew!!! How many times do we teach them and in how many ways that being polite, exercising control over anger and a gentle demeanour combined with sweet words... these can take us far beyond the horizons of success so percieved by the world. Some may argue that this is for the weak and only those lacking in real skills need to resort to this. In no way do I mean to take away from what I said in paragraph three, as a parent, I want the best for my children too and will play a part in their development but I guess the best gift will be when they grow up to be people who are gentle souls, caring individuals and the type who it will be pleasure to keep company with.

Say nicely for me...