Who needs polite, outgoing children with good table manners?
With tongue firmly in cheek, here are seven reasons to stop you from teaching your children proper etiquette and good social skills.
Reason 1: They’ll be too smart and do well in 
school
Who wants smart kids? The scientific journal, Child Development, released an analysis of 33 studies, that found that teaching kids social and emotional skills leads to an average 11 percentile point gain in their academic performance.
Reason 2: They’ll be too popular
Who needs popular kids? The same studies also found that teaching social skills helps students form bonds with their teachers and fellow students.
Reason 3: They’ll be too confident and outgoing
Who wants kids that don’t have their heads stuck in their phones and tablets all the time? Imagine kids that aren’t rude, who make friends easily and can confidently converse and dine anywhere with anyone.
Reason 4: They’ll get noticed
Who wants people constantly complimenting how well-mannered your children are? Your kids will stand out. People will notice. Good etiquette and social skills have a habit of doing that. It will make them stand out positively in school, part-time jobs, in athletics, travel and almost any endeavor that they put their mind to.
Reason 5: They’ll be too successful
Who wants kids who are so successful in their life and career that they don’t move back in with you? According to three separate studies by Harvard University, the Carnegie Institute, and the Stanford Institute – success in getting, keeping, and advancing in a job depends 85% on soft skills or “people” skills and only 15% on technical knowledge and skills.
Reason 6: They’ll show you up
What if their etiquette skills and table manners are better than yours? Well, this is a good reason why you might not want to teach them yourself. It’s a little like why you shouldn’t teach your own children how to drive; something about passing on your bad habits.
Relax, there’s an easy solution to that. There are etiquette experts and trainers available to do the job for you. We have Social Skills for Kids training courses coming up in August and September in the Edmonton, Alberta area. We even have some parents attend the sessions with their children so that they can reinforce learning at home.
(Another option is to view our online Dining Etiquette video program to brush up on your own table manners or order our engaging Dining For Success DVD and watch it along with your children.)
Reason 7: They won’t thank you
Ok, maybe they won’t thank you now (although we make our training fun and engaging) but they will later. Whatever way you decide to teach them, good soft skills will give your kids a head start in their lives and their careers. Early etiquette and social skills training does make a difference that they’ll feel and appreciate for the rest of their lives. Almost every adult who has taken our training has shared with us that they wish they had taken it much earlier in their life.