The Etiquette Business – Challenge Number Two

Sometimes when I tell people what I do, they sort of laugh and say, “Manners? Does anybody really pay attention to manners anymore?” What I have found is that many, many people do pay attention. However, there are definite challenges that come along with promoting etiquette/manners in the today’s world. I’ve actually identified five. Number [...]

5 Day Holiday Manners Makeover – Day 5

Giving and Receiving Gifts:     

Spend this last hour helping your kids learn gracious gift giving and receiving.
Gift Giving – In order to help your kids learn the joy of giving make the time to have them participate in gift shopping or making gifts they will give during the holidays. Then practice these interactions:

Look [...]

Five Day Holiday Manners Makeover – Day 4

Greetings and Handshakes
Greetings and handshakes are social skills – and like every skill it takes practice to get them right and to feel comfortable using them. Also, it’s much easier to learn and practice with someone you know well so try out that greeting and handshake in familiar settings with friends and family.
Let me say [...]

Beyond the Bedtime Story!

Recently, we were sent this absolutely adorable photo of our friend Kerin Stackpole’s daughter Clare. We posted the photo, then soon afterward Kerin sent us this guest post about Clare, manners, and her love for Emily’s Everyday Manners.
My daughter Clare absolutely loves to read.  I bought this book for her when she was not quite [...]

Can You Teach a Toddler Etiquette? You Bet.

Etiquette is all about building good relationships. So children need to learn how to act in ways that are respectful, considerate, and honest – the fundamental principles of etiquette and building strong relationships with family and friends.
But how young can we go? Can toddlers learn concepts like respect and consideration? While toddlers may not understand [...]

The Etiquette Equation

The kids I talk to ask me if it gets boring writing about manners all the time. If writing about manners really just was about keeping track of a bunch of rules, it really would be pretty boring. But it’s not. I actually write about etiquette. I like to think about etiquette as an equation: [...]

Fork or Fingers? Different Manners for Different Cultures

A few nights ago I was watching an episode of the new HBO series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency.  The stories are set in Botswana. In the episode I watched, Mma Ramotswe, the No. 1 Detective, takes a client from the US out to do some investigation near the Kalahari Desert. Mma Ramotswe and [...]

Text Messaging Anarchy

I love the question, “What are the manners for text messaging?” because it gives me a chance to talk about how manners evolve. We don’t just make them up here at The Emily Post Institute. What we do is consider the medium, think about what’s respectful and considerate, listen to the public, and then articulate [...]

Welcome to The Gift of Good Manners

I am happy to welcome you to my new blog, The Gift of Good Manners, named after a book I wrote with my sister-in-law Peggy Post. The Gift of Good Manners is a new place for parents of children from birth to eighteen years to ask questions, share comments, and pick up etiquette tips [...]

“Thank You!” How Many Ways Can You Say It?

“Say, ‘Thank you!’”

“Don’t forget to write a thank you note.”

“Did you say, ‘Thank you’?”

Parents sometimes think they’re all alone out there reminding their kids day after day to say, “Thank you.” I want you all to know that you are not alone. All over the world parents have to remind their kids to say, “Thank [...]