Unfortunately our children pick up rude gestures and actions from many different places. They can even catch their parents making these actions and repeat them because they think its something that is cool. So, how to you deal with these actions when they come about? There are many different ways that you can handle the situation. The actions that you can take also depend on the age of the child. A ten year old can understand that the action they took was rude, while much younger children may not realize or understand why what they did was wrong.
1)Hand Gestures
Many times our kids can pick up rude hand gestures from other adults. You try your best to shield your child from seeing these things, but even a ride down the road can have them seeing certain gestures. If you see someone making the gesture around your child, the first thing you should do is to ask the person to refrain from doing so around your kids. Most people will be very understanding and stop, however some people don’t care.
If someone continues making the gesture around your child don’t bring attention to it in front of your child. Many times your child may not even notice. In the event that they do and they repeat the hand gesture what you should do depends on the age of the child. If they are older, stop them and talk to them about the gesture and tell them why it is rude and why they should stop. Once you have talked, if it’s repeated then you may have to hand out punishment. If the child is very young, then you should not bring attention to them making the gesture. At a young age they may not even realize they are making the gesture. If you are sure that they know they are making it. Stop them from making it gently and then simple tell them that its not nice. The more of a big deal you make of it, the more you will see the action.
2)Interrupting and Other Verbal Rude Actions
Kids are horrible about interrupting their parents and other adults. Sometimes the interruptions are needed and sometimes the kids need to learn to wait. Teaching the difference between these times can be a huge challenge for you as a parent. When you find your child interrupting a lot, take them aside and talk to them about adults speaking. Explain to them when it’s alright to interrupt and when it’s not a nice thing to do. Also, explain to them how to use their manners when they need to interrupt. Many times if they politely say “excuse me” then other adults will be less offended by the interruption and will many times praise your child.
With other rude verbal actions, you need to take them on a case by case basis. Cursing needs to be treated differently depending on the age of the child and the child’s level of understanding. Sometimes kids accidentally say curse words when they are trying to pronounce something else. Make sure your child is purposely saying the word and then depending on the age, correct them.
3)Making Faces and Other Childish Rude Actions
Kids make faces and do other childish thing because they are kids. Most of the time they are perfectly harmless and will be something that your kids grow out of in time. However, there are times that you don’t want your kids making these rude actions, like church and at the dinner table. Explain to your kids that they are not the type of actions that you do in these situations and that they are rude. Make sure they know that these gestures can hurt others feelings. They will probably continue making the gestures, however they will not do them as often and only do them at times they are trying to make others laugh.