5 Ways to Teach Manners to Preschoolers

Best Behavior: Say Please and Thank You

Using "magic words" may seem like just a fun routine to your child, but these niceties make other people feel good.

Make it Happen: Be a role model. "Kids love to imitate Mom and Dad," says Roberta Golinkoff, Ph.D., professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware in Newark. But she'll learn to use please and thank you in everyday conversations even faster when you praise her and react quickly to her polite requests and responses. If she forgets, just give her a little reminder.