As we start 2011, many of us have made a handful (perhaps even a long list!) of New Year's Resolutions. Do your 2011 resolutions include opportunities for civility and kindness? Do your children's resolutions include manners? Consider creating resolutions for yourself and help your children with their resolutions this year that focus on civility, etiquette, respect, patience, kindness, and making relationships better. You may want to set a goal for yourself in one or more categories. There are so many ways we can be kind and considerate toward others. What can you do to make a difference? What can your children do to make a difference? Everyday is a new opportunity to make a positive impact in someone else's life. If we all commit to doing just one thing more positively in this realm, we help in creating a kinder and more civil society. Here are a few suggestions for the New Year:
Out and About
- Purchase a cup of coffee for a stranger
- Let someone else have the booth or window seat at the restaurant
- Avoid using the phone or similar technology when in a restaurant
- Be considerate when using your cell phone in public such as monitoring the volume of your voice and avoid using phone's speaker capability
- Keep your cell phone put away when checking out at the grocery store
- Avoid giving mean looks to the mother with the screaming child at the store
- Let someone merge in your lane ahead of you while driving
At Work
- Give a coworker a handwritten thank you for their help with a project or in meeting a strict deadline
- Stay late to help out a coworker even though it isn't your "responsibility"
- Avoid taking an office mate's chair for a meeting
- Returning an office mate's stapler if you borrowed it
- Don't leave the copier jammed for someone else
- Avoid holding loud conversations outside another's cube
- Avoid leaving rotting food in the refrigerator
At Home
- Keep technology away from the table while dining with your family
- Sit down to dinner as a family at least once a week or once a month
- Be a good sport about your children's games no matter if their team wins or loses
- Always RSVP to an invitation
- Treat family with civility by not taking out on them a bad day at work
- Do not interrupt family members when they are speaking
Resolutions Children Can Make
- Write thank you notes for gifts within a week of receiving a gift
- Keep the volume on the TV tolerable for the family
- Clean up mess on table at fast food restaurant
- Take clear phone messages
- Knock on a closed door
- Shake hands and not "bump" when meeting someone new
