What is the earliest age should you teach your child to cover his/her mouth when he/she yawns ,coughs etc.?

Question

As a person who has yet to have children, but hopefully one day have some. I find that raising a polite well mannered child as soon as they are capable of understanding will go a long way to bringing up a well rounded contributing individual in today's society.

Politeness in my opinion is very important indicator of mutual respect toward one another in today's society which sadly is becoming more and more rude.

Simple basic manners such as yawning or coughing without putting one's hand over his/her mouth is becoming more and more common place.

So I pose this question to those who have children. Do you teach your children these basic etiquette rules and what would be the appropiate age to teach them to cover thier mouth when coughing, sneezing or yawning?

Or do you as a parent don't bother at all?

Thanks for listening.

Answer 1

You can start as soon as they can feed themselves with their fingers, BUT don't actually expect them to do it until they can tie their shoes. The best way to teach any little child social skills is to set an example. When you yawn make sure you cover your mouth everytime. Say things like, "Wow, Mommy is tired. Did you see Mommy yawn? I covered my mouth. Can you pretend to be sleepy?" Have them mock your behavior and tell him how great they did it. Be encouraging and give them little reminders as they get to walking and talking more and more. Don't scold, just remind.

Answer 2

As early as possible... I am in the eighth grade, and a lot of my classmates' parents have obviously never taught them manners. Some of them are always coughing and sneezing on everyone else, and they yawn loudly without covering their mouths. I would say anytime before kindergarten. I didn't learn to cover my mouth when I yawn until fourth grade, when a girl said, "Um... no offense, but could you cover your mouth when you yawn?" That was pretty embarrasing. It seems like so many parents dont bother to teach their kids manners, even though they definitely should to avoid their kids being talked about and embarrased.

Answer 3

Well, I taught preschool for three years, and my students were 3-5 years old. Whenever any of them made a social misstep of any kind, my co-teacher and I immediately corrected it, and then made it a lesson for the rest of the class. Kids are such sponges--they remember everything! Never waste a potential learning experience. I do not have my own children yet, but, when I do, I am going to start teaching them manners right away. It is never too early!

Answer 4

It starts at home as so as they understand what you are showing them to do. The problem is not when you teach them it is when the get into the public schools they see their friends not doing it so they start to copy them and then you have the fight of making them understand that just because joey doesn't cover his mouth does not mean it is ok for you to stop doing it. The teachers should say something every once in a while about being polite

Answer 5

As a mother of 5 children, I usually begin to teach my children basic manners when they begin to walk. You can say "No! NO!" when the child tries to reach for something that will hurt or injure him or her. Children are great imitators and will practice covering their mouth when coughing, sneezing or yawning if they see you do it.

Answer 6

As soon as possible.. we did it by age 3.

Especially for coughing and sneezing, it's important for kids to learn to cover their mouths. This cuts down on germ spread in high-child-density activities like school, etc.

One new twist is to cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow, as sneezing on your hands is only mainly beneficial if you wash your hands shortly afterward, which kids rarely do.

Answer 7

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Answer 8

I would say as soon as they can really understand you. I don't know when my parents taught me, but young as you can go, a great time to teach is at the table when they cough say "Jane next you have to cough at the table cover your mouth with your arm and turn away from the table" if it's too hard for them to grasp do it one at a time.

Answer 9

Children imitates everything....be sure you cover your mouth when you yawn, since yawning is contagious, your kid will follow suit and surely cover his/her mouth.

I teach my kids such, stuff that shows respect to the elderly and always being nice by saying hello and smiling to others...I have 3 kids, but my youngest (boy, 8months) is quite different from the two, not only because kids have different personalities but I was reading bible stuff to him when he was still in my womb...well I guess it worked, he likes to listen and not move around much but imitates when I teach him.

Answer 10

Yes, I agree manners are definitely important. And I started teaching them straight away, even though they didn't understand. It seems to have worked, they are polite...well most of the time anyway! Sometimes they can be little horrors, but that's kids for you!