I beg your pardon.

Rather than "what", I tell the kids that "I beg your pardon" is much nicer.

One thing that is lacking in this world is manners. Children are being raised without them. And yes, I know, that is a MASSIVE generalisation.

But let's be fair; the number of kids who say please and thank you is diminishing. And just general courtesy, well, it is a rarity more than the norm.

That is why when I see a child with manners I am so pleasantly surprised.

I'll give you an example. On Halloween we did the trick or treating. And after rushing a little we got back to our house to be there for some trick or treaters to come around to us.

Some grabbed handfuls, wherein they were told to take only a few please.

And there were some who took one, I told them they could take another, and they said "Thank you very much." To which I replied "You are most welcome." They smiled, and off they went on their merry way.

Now in the grand scheme of things it may seem inconsequential, the quest for manners. But it is not. It truly is not.

If everyone had the courtesy to say please and thank you, to stand aside rather than push ahead, to let someone in who was trying to merge, to stand back for someone having obvious difficulty to let them pass, to offer assistance to those who may require it, and to do so without hesitation, and without any expectations in return, what a wonderful world that would be.

And so I try to teach my children manners.

And tonight, my beautiful frustrating little children played that game of coming in and out of their rooms after they had been put to bed. It doesn't always happen. But it does happen. And tonight my frustration levels were rising somewhat, and my patience was growing thin.

So after some minutes of silence, when I heard Master 3 mutter a faint "Muuuuuuum" I yelled out "WHAT??!"

Miss 4 then said, quietly, but audibly, "I beg your pardon."

Yep.

At least it is sinking in I guess.