Teaching social manners to children is not easy. It is also cannot be done overnight. Social manners in children, especially the very young ones, are admirable virtues. Respectfulness in youngsters almost always reflects good family background. Parents should start teaching the basic social etiquette to their children at a young age.

Here are some suggestions on how to mold the children with right conduct:

1. Parents should be the role models. Children are natural imitators. They always try to emulate what the adults around them do and say.

2. Respect should be earned. Treat your children with respect, so that they will respect you, too.

3. As early as 3 to 4 years old, children should be taught not to interrupt conversations by adult.

4. Tell your children to address the adults with the right title, not by first names. Otherwise, children would start looking at all adults as their playmates, who can be treated casually.

5. Do not let the children throw tantrums whenever and wherever they want. If they were asking for something prohibited, do not give in when they start losing their temper, especially in public.

6. Scold your children in private so that they will retain their self-respect even when they’re being dressed down for showing bad manners, or throwing a noisy tantrum.

7. Parents should be tireless and patient on teaching children. They should be repetitive so that the basic rules of social etiquette are imprinted on the minds and hearts of their children, especially when they are having constant interaction with playmates that do not have nice manners.

8. Praise every good deed to give inspiration. Children are always eager to please their parents.

You must teach different skills one at a time. When it is time for the children to go to parties, they should be taught some table manners so that they will know how to eat properly in front of other people.

Before you allow the children to answer the telephone, they must know how to speak respectfully and must learn the right words to say or ask. Do not forget to teach them how to jot down the messages on a notebook beside the telephone. This task is for the older children.

Now that we are well on the way to getting things off our chest, I am going to mouth off on some annoying habits of my coworkers. I am sure lot of you would have encountered similar habits.

First up are people who are always not prepared. People who cannot come prepared to a long arranged business meeting should not be there, or in any workplace, in my opinion.

Another group of coworkers who should not work in a modern office are people who cannot work in a team. What can be more annoying than people who only care about their particular limited area, when everyone else is working their hearts off for the team?

Then there are people who expect others to fix, complete, and help out, with the work, not once, mind you, but every time.

A person who cannot give a firm handshake always sends wrong signals. If a person cannot look one in the eye and has a hand that feels like a fish, that makes the whole atmosphere unpleasant

We also cannot help getting annoyed at people with, shall we say, less than perfect hygiene. Smell, body generated or through smoking or alcohol consumption, really turns me off for sure. People, who use too much fragrance, as a habit or to cover-up other smells, also annoy me. Office is not a place for strong smells. Period

Bad phone etiquette especially mobile phone etiquette is a big no-no. This is a so common an annoyance that I hardly need to explain it.