As a child my parents used to tell me it was important to have good manners. My mother said unless I improved my eating etiquette I would never be invited to Buckingham Palace. I never did, I never was, and I probably never will be!

So, what are manners and why do parents make sure their children have them? Why do people judge others by their manners, and how have manners changed over the years?

Manners are behaviours that a group of people decide that should be followed in certain settings. That’s what I think, but I am interested in what you think manners are. I feel parents want their children to be accepted in their community, so they may encourage them to use cutlery properly, not to put their elbows on the table, not to burp, not to lean over to reach something on the table and to ask to leave the table.

Manners have changed over time and from culture. Kissing someone’s hand was considered polite but now it is seen as pretentious or even a bit creepy. In the past mainly men shook hands but now everyone shakes hands.

With mobile phones and use of text and emails there a separate set of manners. I never knew that capital letters were seen as shouting. Since most people use emails the formal ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ are no longer used also to acknowledge the range of genders. We no longer say ‘Yours sincerely’ or ‘Yours faithfully.’

I have just briefly touched some of the issues about manners. I would like to hear  about;

What manners mean to you?

What manners were seen as important when you were a child?

What manners are you glad have changed and which ones would you like to see changed?

Are manners outdated and maybe be replaced with common sense. Can you tell me about a time you felt unfairly judged by others because of your manners.

Leah 

A Moodscope member