Are your kids 'rude'?

I am finding it really embarassing that when we see people out and about and they speak to Charlotte she wont speak back! It happens with people we do and don't know, so it bothers me alot when it's someone she knows and then when the person behing the counter tries to talk to her it makes me feel terrible! She wont say hello, or thankyou etc!

How do I get her out of it? I mean it's not a bad thing as I dont want her to speak to everyone (stranger danger) but to people serving her/us or people we know I do

Paige is the same Jakki - I try to prompt her but I don't worry too much about it. I think all mine have done it but they've all eventually grown out of it. Often people we don't know will respond with "it's a good thing that she doesn't speak to strangers" anyway

Lily is the SAME!!! I prompt her a bit, but what I focus on more is how I interact with strangers and shop people, to show an example to my girls.

I don't mind if they don't feel comfortable talking, [not many kids do with adults, even their adult rellies!!] but make sure I am always polite and nice to everyone, as I know my kids don't miss a THING!

*Disclaimer- on a super bad day, Im not always polite/friendly.... lol... those days I just grin and bear it heheheheh

At 4 years old, Niamh is EXACTLY the same Jakki!

I think it might be a stage, but she has also realised that the more she doesn't speak the more attention we pay her and so it's become a bit of a game to her - GRR! Now I am trying to prompt her once and if she refuses to speak, then I am just letting it go and not making an issue of it. Hopefully she will grow out of it - she has NO problem being noisy at home

Marnie

Some kids at one of the kindy I work in do that too. When the staff greets them they just ignore the staff. But we tell them it is rude to do that and that when someone says hi you say hi back. Obviously the kids know us so they are expected to greet us back, and most of them do it's just some that sometimes gets shy. We usually just say, 'oh maybe you will say hi later', and not pay them too much attention. Sometimes like Marnie said they could be doing it for the attention

And some kids are slow to warm kids; takes them a while after they meet someone, even someone they have already met, to get over their shyness.

I have the opposite problem with Madi, when she meets people the kid just won't shut up

In a short space of time she tells them her life story, she also asks embarrasing questions

Harrison on the other hand won't even maintain eye contact and is super self - concious. My Mother always makes a big deal about him being rude and the more she goes on about it (in front of him no less) the worse he becomes.

I feel so sorry for him being so socially awkward, he literally will not talk to adults.

His Dad was the same though and now he's very confident, so I'm hoping it's just a "phase".

Ah yes, Scooby- I have seen first hand what you mean about Madi- she will talk the leg off a chair to any old stranger hehehehe


Harrison looks pretty normal to me- tell mother to go shove it!!!