Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas.
Day 18: Clearly my mother wasn’t the only one brainwashing kids about thank you notes
I love when a post gets people talking! Your input makes the conversation so much richer.
My post about thank you notes earlier this week — and specifically the story of how militant my mother was in enforcing writing them — drew numerous comments on Facebook. I’m sharing them here so everyone can get the wisdom of my friends:
Nayiri Mullinix my mom was similarly strict with thank you notes. at the time, i was irritated by the fact that she forced me to write them. now, i am irritated with people who neglect writing thank you notes.
Kristi McGarrity Robins My parents were thank you note enforcers also… have to say it rubbed off as now I make my kids do them also, the old fashioned handwritten and mailed variety! 🙂 One of my pet peeves also is people who neglect writing thank you notes.
Barbara Carole Cain The note is a requirement and must be at least 3 sentences. If the kids were too young to write, they made a picture. It’s basic manners and I’m a believer in basic manners being used in daily life.
Zabrina Santiago-Lindsay Same protocols for thanks yous in the household I grew up in. So impressed upon me that if a gift has been received, I can not go to sleep at night if a thank you has not been written. I nearly hyperventilate at the thought. Am passing same etiquette down to my girls. but am hoping they don’t hyperventilate if it takes them a whole week to color and scribble pictures as thank yous! (the extent of their capacities at this point for most of them) :>)
Angie Lamoli Silvestry Thank you notes are not only a matter of civility, courtesy and gratitude, they are a sign of proper upbringing and good manners. My grandmother, mother and aunts were very strict over the matter. I am glad. I expect no less from my teenage daughters.
Is it just a coincidence that all of these comments came from women and that all the thank you note disciplinarians were mothers? Guys, do you have similar experiences?
And if so many of us have been taught the value of thank you notes as kids, why do many people save it for wedding and funeral etiquette?
Finally, chiming in on the all-female chatter was Thibault:
Thibault Devillers I’d rather say thank you to the people in person, it feels more true in my opinion…
Which is perfect foreshadowing for a post coming very soon. Thanks for setting me up, Thibault!