Nursery World - Positive Relationships: Behaviour

Politeness and manners are a concern for parents, but the meaning and intention behind ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ must be taught, not just the words themselves, says Caroline Vollans

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Say thank you’, ‘Did you say sorry?’, ‘Where are your manners?’ are phrases overheard frequently in the vicinity of young children. Likewise, ‘I said sorry’ and ‘It was an accident!’ trip off the tongues of young children all too easily – ‘sorry’ being used to mean ‘end of story’.

We live in an age where a public apology – or lack of it – whether by an unfaithful footballer or a world leader is never long out of the media. Sorry is also a word that can be used aggressively – the commuter ‘sorry’ that is used to push you out of the way, regardless – or as a substitute for ‘Pardon?’ Altogether, this makes it something of a confusing word and notion.

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