What should you teach to a nine year old child?

1. Teach him to say ‘please’ before asking anything from others and ‘thank you’ on receiving it.
2. Teach him that in case he wants to say something while two elders are talking, he should keep patience and wait till the elders complete their conversation. And if it is urgent and necessary then he should politely say ‘excuse me’ and then put his point in the middle of the conversation.
3. Teach him to ask whenever he has a doubt or lack of self-confidence. The habit of asking can save him from many problems.
4. Teach him especially that he should not make a comment in public on someone’s physical appearance, language, religion and caste.
5. Teach him to answer nicely when someone asks ‘How are you?’, and also to ask courtesy question in response.
6. Teach him to say ‘Thank you’ for using his friends’ items. He should also say ‘Thank you’ to the family members of his friend while leaving friend’s house after playing.
7. Teach your child to knock the door before entering someone’s house or bedroom, and to enter only after getting a reply from the other side.
8. Teach him to introduce himself before starting a conversation with someone on the phone. He should also make sure that the person on the other-end is the correct person with whom he really wants to talk.
9. Teach him to shake hands with others and say ‘Thank you’ with a sense of gratitude upon receiving gifts or help from them.
10. Stop him from using slang; teach him good words
11. See that your child doesn’t call his friends or others with their teasing nicknames.
12. Stop your child from jeering, mocking and laughing at someone’s mistake, commenting on someone’s physical limitations, on his friend’s name or his family. Stop him from beating or punishing someone.
13. Teach him to sit quietly at the events like prayer, meeting or sports match which are uninteresting to him. Let him know that the person on the stage is performing with the best to his capacity.
14. Teach him to say ‘Excuse me’ whenever he needs to interrupt other’s activity.
15. Teach your child to cover his face with tissue while sneezing and coughing and to say ‘Excuse me’ after it.
16. Teach him the courtesy that on passing through the door he should patiently hold the door-open for the next person walking behind him.
17. Teach him to say ‘May I help you?’ when his elders, parents or teachers are doing some work.
18. Teach him to gladly help the elders whenever they ask for it.
19. Teach him dining manners, using of dining tools and keeping cleanliness.
20. Teach your child a habit to keep a napkin with him while eating and to keep his mouth clean with it.
21. Teach him that while on dining table he should request others to pass on the food instead of dragging it towards him.
22. Teach your child to put his shoes, lunchbox, school bag and uniform at right place after returning home from school.
23. It is important to teach him traffic rules for safety and how to ride bicycle on the road.
24. Teach him to put his demands before his parents in the form of request.
25. Teach him how to sit safely on the vehicle, using the seat-belt and to be watchful for his safety while riding in the car or school van.
26. Teach your child to keep his shields, trophies, certificates and files in a systematic and secure manner.
27. Teach him to take part in school activities, to make representation before the teacher, to solve small problems on his own and whose help should he seek while facing bigger problems?

Parents’ behaviour is the very first schooling for the children. It is important for parents to understand that the children learn most things not by continuous persuading but from the parents’ behaviour.