More must be done to instil etiquette in children

I refer to the report “Primary student sorry after rude gesture at NDP is caught on camera” (Aug 11).

As the boy has already been counselled by his parents and the school, and is apologetic for his action, my aim is not to chastise him, but rather to raise awareness of the importance of teaching etiquette from a young age.

Although primary and secondary schools have Character and Citizenship Education classes to teach students to be civic-minded, there is room for improvement.

In primary schools, more emphasis should be placed on manners. Most pupils know the importance of respect, but it is debatable whether they know how to be respectful.

Behavioural examples should be included in lessons, and pupils could be asked to judge which behaviours are respectable. This way, it will be crystal clear that rude gestures are unacceptable in public.

Parents should also play a bigger role in a child’s learning of manners.

In public, when someone has, for example, used vulgarities or made inappropriate gestures, I have heard parents tell their children not to listen to the person and that such behaviour is “bad”, without explaining further.

Parents and teachers alike should teach children the implications of such behaviour, otherwise kids may think that these forbidden acts are “cool” and engage in them when they are not under adult supervision.

If children understand the consequences, they would be sensible enough to refrain from vulgar behaviour in the first place, instead of regretting and agonising over it when they get older.