Here's a subject I've been trying to avoid, but which keeps forcing itself on my attention.
Why are the children here so rude?
Yesterday I was walking out of a big drugstore and turned to smile at an adorable-looking boy of about seven, who was pulling at his father's hand. That's before I heard what he was saying.
"Get me that car, Daddy! I want that car!"
I waited for "Say please," but I already knew I was not going to hear it.
"Je veux" n'aura pas, a French child is told. ["I want" will not get.] I think American and specifically Californian parents (because I don't notice this rudeness so much in the east, and certainly not in the South) think their children can leave learning manners till they're older. Wrong, wrong, so wrong!
What a fabulous surprise to find you back writing again -- I was just checking the bookmarked site, without much hope, and here you are!
When I was growing up (50's and 60's, small city just next to Vancouver,BC, Canada) we'd say "'I want' never gets" -- almost literal translation of what your French children recite. Must have occasionally said it to my own children (now 20's and early 30's), and if not, they would have figured it out quite quickly.
Posted by: materfamilias | 22 August 2007 at 10:56
First, I'm so glad you are back, and your daily musings are always a pleasure to read.... le "petit mot magique" is what I used to say to my kids and very early I explained to them that I was a very contrary mother and that no way would they get anything if le petit mot magique - and the right tone - were not included in the asking. I have never heard "je veux n'aura pas" in my family, but it sounds like a good expression for a - hopefully - future grandmother to use.....
Posted by: Chantal DUCHEMIN | 22 August 2007 at 11:05
Hello Sedulia !
Yes, French children are brought up differently ! (grin)
Best,
L'Amerloque
Posted by: L'Amerloque | 23 August 2007 at 11:49
I lived in Ohio before moving to France. I was a single mother raising a daughter alone before I met my French husband. Please and thank you were some of the first words she said. I taught her by modeling and saying the words myself to her and others. I now have three other children and do the same with them. My children are well mannered but it matters to me.
I did see more and more kids with bad manners in the States before moving. But, all in all I think most children have good manners and it is very important to the parents. At least that is what I saw where I was from in Ohio.
Posted by: Pumpkin | 03 September 2007 at 12:49