‘Appallingly rude’: Gran wants to punish ill-mannered granddaughter

It’s often said that manners no longer exist, but one gran has come up with a plan to teach her young granddaughter a lesson in a bid to instil some politeness into her.

The anonymous grandmother revealed that her seven-year-old granddaughter never says please or thank you, and even refuses to give a polite hello or goodbye whenever she visits. One time she even told her loving gran to “go away”.

Posting on online forum Gransnet, the woman revealed that she is now considering buying the youngster a book on manners for her next birthday as “punishment” for her behaviour.

“Am I being unreasonable to consider giving my granddaughter a book about manners for her birthday?” she wrote. “She is appallingly rude, no please or thank you, no greeting or goodbye.

“Yesterday I looked into their sitting room to say hello to her and she said, ‘go away’. She will be seven soon and I’m tempted to punish her with such a book instead of a toy, BUT it’s actually her parents’ fault, isn’t it?”

Read more: Study proves good manners are going down the drain.

People chimed in to offer advice and stories of their own experiences to the concerned grandmother, with many suggesting that it is the parent’s fault for not insisting that their daughter use good manners.

One user wrote: “Do her parents insist on good manners? It isn’t your job to initiate them if her parents don’t also insist. Both my daughters and their husbands insist on manners and because of that I just support their rules.

“I don’t think it’s fair to punish the child. Discuss it with the parents and find out what they feel and manage your expectations I think.”

While another said: “I would say so. Do they ever comment on the things she says?  I would HAVE to say something, I just know I wouldn’t be able to keep it in.”

Read more: Remember when manners and discipline were instilled in society.

However others suggested that the gran could try to lead by example. One user suggested: “Your seven yr old granddaughter is hardly likely to read a book on manners if she isn’t being taught them at home.

“Try to lead by example? If that doesn’t work then try to get her to say please and thank you each time. But make her use good manners when she is in your home and speaking to you. I’ve noticed that although my grandkids always ask to leave the table at our house and carry their plates out to the kitchen, at home they just wander away and no one says anything.

“I guess it isn’t important to them but in my house it’s my rules.”

A recent study also revealed that fewer people say please and thank you for simple requests nowadays, seemingly confirming the view that they simply no longer exist.

According to research conducted by the University of Sydney and published in the Royal Society Open Science Journal, saying thank you is no longer necessary in typical day-to-day settings. The study found people are abandoning their thank yous in droves, particularly in social settings such as homes and villages where it is no longer the social norm to express gratitude.

What do you think? Are good manners a thing of the past?