The daily routine at Château Bremner changes pretty dramatically this week when my wife the school teacher and our two girls all start summer vacation.
That also brings to a close the daily ritual of Dad making breakfast for the kids each morning after Mom leaves and before they run out to catch the bus.
It’s nice having that time together, but frankly I’m looking forward to the break.
Lately we’ve been battling over one of my biggest pet peeves.
That would be my daughters’ unwillingness to use manners on a regular basis.
“Okay, kids, here you go, “Dad’s Famous Toaster Waffles with Strawberry Jam!”
Silence.
“Okay, here you go!”
Nada.
Dad raises his hands.
“Well?”
“Well what Dad, our show’s on.”
“Well how about a ‘Thank You’?”
(dejectedly) thanks…dad…
(absently) yea..thanks.
They’re not bad kids and they’re usually better around other adults.
But in their world it’s just not cool to be polite anymore, that in their circles using questions instead of statements makes them somehow weaker or less in a world where toughness is required at an increasingly younger age.
It’s a world where the closest thing to civility is something along the lines of “Whatever, butthead.”
But isn’t “May I have” a better approach than “Give me that?”
Far be it for my kids to be uncool or even downright geeky for sticking the word “please” at the end of the sentence.
I’m not looking to create two little Miss Manners but I do miss manners when they don’t show them.
I know that lessons embedded deeply enough will resurface as my children get older, and I honestly believe that they will enter the world as civil adults able to converse in public.
But I also know that at this age who wins out when “cool” friends come in conflict with
“dorky parental units.”
And that should make for some more interesting conversations come early mornings in September.
HEY! We're getting our "Comments" section fixed. It's amazing what happens when you say "please?" often enough. Thank you for your thoughts so far, but you still have to send an email marked "Comments" to scott.bremner@wsee.tv. We'll have more on using the regular and newly fixed "Comments" section beginning next week. YEA! Oops, didn't mean to shout in public.