Well, Excu-u-u-u-s-e Me!!!!

How do you figure out when to start teaching children manners, etiquette and good behavior? I guess it’s right from the beginning, huh?


Of course, children certainly must get mixed signals, because sometimes we adults aren’t very good examples, are we?

My daughter Mandy and son-in-law, Adam, have done what I think is an excellent job with Harrison, who is not quite three years old.

They started with the usuals – “thank you,” “you’re welcome” and “please.”




Among the many others they taught him was the one they themselves learned at Chick-fil-A. That’s where Mandy and Adam met as fellow employees. (Both, by the way, continue with Chick-fil-A: he as operator of the Murrells Inlet store and she as a grand opening consultant.)

Anyway, if you’ve ever been a customer at Chick-fil-A, you probably know that if you say “Thank you,” the employee responds with “My pleasure.”

So, Harrison learned to say “My pleasure” as well as “You’re welcome.”

And they taught him other appropriate phrases, such as “I’m sorry” and “Excuse me.”

Like all children, Harrison occasionally had to be prompted. After all, it takes time to learn and to let new things become habit.

One day, Harrison, ahem, “passed gas” rather loudly. His parents asked, “What do you say, Harrison?”

He promptly replied, “My pleasure!”

I’m sure the relief he felt did indeed feel pleasurable.

And isn’t that a feeling that we all know?!?!


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