Good Manners: A Return To Traditional Values (NAPSA)—A growing number of parents are returning to traditional values when raising their children. More and more, parents are focusing on instilling good manners and behaviors in their children from a very young age. According to a Yankelovich survey, 82 percent of parents with preschoolers said that good manners is the numberonearea that they would like to see return to more traditional standards. In addition, 64 percent of parents of children ages 2 to 3 said that manners and being polite was an “extremely important” item to work on with their children. Here are sometips for teaching good manners: * Work on one thing at a time. Teaching children about the importance of manners and good behavior can be very overwhelming for both parents and children. To get positive results, start slow and begin by working on onetopic at a time. Best Manners Singing Barney from Fisher-Price can help explain good manners and practices one step at a time. Best Man- ners Singing Barney teaches children about sharing, taking turns and saying “please” and “thank you” through music. * Role-playing. You can reinforce the practice and value of good behaviors by acting out situations where children can use what they have learned. A pretend trip to the grocery store can help children understand the context in which to use good manners. Barney’s Please ’n A newline of toys is now helping youngsters learn good manners and behavior. Thank You Cash Register from Fisher-Price encourages children to say “please” and “thank you” while shopping, through songs and repetition. Praise success. Barney’s Safety Songs Driver, a driving activity toy, gives feedback to young passengers—and encourages courteous behavior and safety practices through popular songs like the “Buckle Up” song, and character phrases. When your kids display proper manners at home or while in the car, give them immediate positive feedback. Children need to hear how proud you are of their good behavior. To learn more about the entire line of Barney’s Best Behaviors or to request a copy of Best Behaviors Activity Book, which includes reward stickers, activities and a special picture-frame magnet, visit the Web site at www.fisherprice.com.
