That used to be one of my mother’s favorite phrases when I was a a kid growing up in nearby Chattanooga.

One of the things she always stressed to me was the importance of having good manners (and using them).

That was brought home recently by a story in our Knoxville newspaper titled “No thanks to ‘thank you’?” and about the lack of simple gratitiude and manners in our everyday lives.

The writer opined that the upcoming holiday season would be a good time to remind everyone to mind their manners.

“With Thanksgiving a mere five days away, some etiquette experts say the holiday for giving thanks - albeit in most cases to the Creator - is a good reminder for everyone to mind their manners every day.

“In a fast-paced society, we do tend to lose the little things,” said Mindy Coulter, chapter director of Knoxville’s National League of Junior Cotillions.”

The League’s mission statement: “To act and learn to treat others with honor, dignity and respect for better relationships with family, friends and associates and to learn and practice ballroom dance.”

Personally as a teenaged boy I could have skipped the ballroom dancing part ;-)  but all their other programs for youngsters are great.

If you’re unsure or feel you need a refresher course Knoxville has the Flora Mainord School of Etiquette for all ages and all social situations and the Knoxville Chapter of the National League of Junior Cotillions has great programs for young people

This holiday season is a great time to renew your efforts to be more grateful and to remember to be more civil to your fellow man.

A few more “please” and “thank yous” would also go a long way.

Some of the lessons learned in manners and how to properly interact with others go far beyond just “please” and “thank you”; teaching children to care about people and appreciate their gifts could also amount to huge lessons in life.

Here are some great tips for raising polite children.

  • Be a great role model for your children.
  • Point out the nice things they do.
  • Don’t make fun of others in front of your children (or any other time)

We all have a lot to be grateful and thankful for; I’m going to make a special effort to say “please” and “thank you” more, not only for the holidays but for the upcoming years.

Thank you for reading this; please pass it on to others, especially those with children.