Around age 2, your child may be starting to say “no” and taking more notice of how you react to her behaviors and actions. She will pick up on the fact that there are good (desired) and bad (undesired) behaviors. Using polite words should be encouraged, especially when someone is asking for and receiving something. It shows kindness and a respectful awareness, which will help your child start learning how to get along with others.
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Step 1: Listen to your child’s request for something.
Step 2: Guide her to add polite words to her requests by repeating what she has asked for in a sentence. For example, you might remind your child to say please and thank you by saying:
Mommy, may I have more milk, please?
Praise the attempts to repeat the request with polite wording.
Step 3: When you give your child the item that she wanted, remind your child to say thank you.
Step 4: Remember to be a good role model and be consistent. After a while, using polite words will become a natural part of these interactions. With time, you may only need to use the friendly reminder “What do you say?” when she forgets to use polite words. You can extend her vocabulary of polite words to include Hello, Goodbye, You’re Welcome, Excuse Me, No Thank You, etc.
Model good communication by translating your child's “request” into words.
Remind your child to add polite words to her requests by asking your child to repeat the request more politely, focusing on tone and style along with the words. Praise attempts to repeat the request with polite wording, tone and style.