One wears earbuds and probably doesn’t even hear me when I say hello and goodbye.
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Is there ever a polite way to teach other people’s kids to be a little more mannerly or considerate?
As the youngsters enter the middle school years, however, they increasingly treat me as if I’m some sort of robot, or at best, a nameless bus driver -- not someone they’ve known since kindergarten. They were a lot more fun when they were younger. It’s not as if I need to be thanked, exactly; I just wonder what their conduct says about how they relate to people in general. Is there anything I could say that would help them realize that social graces are basic life skills, ones that grease the wheels of human interaction throughout life?
These kids will be driving themselves in a few years, and this situation is not unbearable for me; it just feels as if I’m missing an opportunity to provide a little guidance that seems lacking from other adults in their lives.Miss Manners suggests that next time you pick up the kids, you say, “All right, everyone. Here are the ground rules. Everyone says ‘hello’ when entering the car, and ‘goodbye and thank you’ when leaving. Conversational questions will be answered, not ignored or grunted at.
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