Teaching children to receive gifts politely is important. It’s helpful to practice before holidays or birthdays. Providing a gift list can be impolite, and involving children in giving their own gifts can help. The correct response is a quick “Thank you.” Practice makes perfect.
Teaching children to receive presents politely is important during the first few years of life. It’s especially helpful to practice receiving gifts politely so that children are well prepared before the hustle and bustle of a holiday or birthday. Very young children often yell things like “I already have one!” or “I hate it!” This can cause everyone discomfort, or at least some giggles. As children get older, most friends and family expect children to get better at receiving gifts in a polite way.
When children are talking, it can be quite simple to show them that there are different ways to politely receive gifts, especially if the gift is not exactly what the child had in mind. Some people recommend sending a gift list to friends and family.
However, many etiquette experts find this to be impolite and discourage politely receiving gifts that weren’t on a list. It is a request for certain gifts rather than allowing relatives to choose within their means. It’s fine to provide a list when asked, but then kids have expectations of what they’re going to get, and that’s a path to rudeness.
Of course, the child who doesn’t get what he expects may respond rudely without instruction. So the first rule of receiving gifts politely is that you shouldn’t expect them. Gifts are a way to show that someone cares about the child. An expectation of gifts can quickly become a request for gifts, which is not polite.
The next rule that helps children practice receiving gifts politely is to involve children early in giving their own gifts. Ask them to buy or create items to give to friends and family. Children can soon get very excited about how someone is going to get a gift. It might help children realize, particularly if rudeness has occurred in the past, how they might feel if someone didn’t receive a gift in a nice way.
The correct response to any gift is a quick “Thank you.” This can be taught to younger children. Even if the gift is not what was expected. Most five- or six-year-olds can add something nice to the present. For example, receiving a book you already own and love might encourage the statement, “I love this book!” This is a true statement, so it does not encourage the child to lie and promotes polite receiving of gifts.
A child who receives clothes may turn up his nose at such a gift. However, a new shirt, new socks, or pajamas are likely to help. Receiving gifts like these politely can include thanks and a statement like, “I’m sure I’ll be using this a lot.” Or “Wow, these are going to keep me warm.”
Receiving gifts politely really takes practice, because kids blurt things out. However, if children know that gifts come from the heart, that people like their gifts to be appreciated, and that it is important that the person giving the gift feels comfortable with their choice, it can help improve polite reception of gifts. Role-playing can often be a fun way to impart this information without making a lecture out of it. Indeed, as the saying goes, “practice makes perfect”.
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