***Thank you to Common Courtesy Kids for sponsoring this post so we could share with you how manners matter!***
Three cheers, mama! If you are reading this post, it means one very important thing–you have survived summer!! Well done, and welcome to September! We all know summering with kids is no joke. It’s when push comes to shove and all that nifty time together reveals lots of fun truths. The summer months are a fantastic time to take stock of where your kiddos are and where they need to be in terms of…all things. Like in my case, that my kids have no manners! Gah!! My Emily Post-inspired mother would be rolling over in her grave, and I myself started to snap during the umpteenth meal of whining over what was served. We needed help–STAT. Time to call in the expert. As luck would have it, the leading expert in etiquette training is in our backyard! Score! I was overjoyed to welcome Common Courtesy Kids to our home, and am so encouraged by all we learned!
What is Common Courtesy Kids?
Common Courtesy Kids brings manners instruction to YOU. Whether you are seeking private instruction in your home for your own children, and/or a small group of kids, or would like to share etiquette training with a class or group (Common Courtesy Kids is VERY popular with Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops!), this is your Manners to Go service!
All sessions are customized and well outlined ahead of time. You will have advanced opportunity to specify your interests and needs, and sessions are complete with accompanying paperwork/journals for children to use throughout the session and take home with them afterward.
In our case, I wanted to most heavily focus on basic table manners, as well as general social interaction for my children and a few of their same-age friends, so we opted for a single two and a half hours session to address both areas.
Who is the face behind Common Courtesy Kids?
Alissa Regitz, the founder of Common Courtesy Kids, brings her passion and caring personal presence to her instruction of young people in etiquette skills. Alissa’s educational field experience is diverse, ranging from the high school, middle school and preschool classroom. After graduating from Meredith College (Raleigh, NC) with a degree in Family and Consumer Science education, it didn’t take long for Alissa to discover her enjoyment and satisfaction in equipping young people with essential life skills. Alissa is a wife and mother of three teenage sons. So she’s a mom herself, and she gets it. She is not about perfection, but rather about purpose and progress for showing a respectful attitude in all you say and do for yourself and for others. (I love this mission!)
I was so taken with Alissa’s skilled ability to connect so well with our kiddos. She met them on their level and did a beautiful job of having fun with them while simultaneously teaching valuable life skills. She had a keen ability to instruct how manners matter in our lives along with the value of good social skills in feeling confident and knowing how to make those around you comfortable too.
Alissa was real, personable, kind, and extremely knowledgeable in her expertise. Above all, I felt comfortable welcoming her into our messy, chaotic home and letting my messy, chaotic kids loose with her–and this speaks volumes! While I typically fuss over how well my kids may or may not behave, and how tidy the playroom is, I did not feel any need to do this (truth!). Alissa, or Mrs. Regitz, as my kids know her, is the perfect balance of realism and propriety for helping your children grow!
How does Common Courtesy Kids teach that manners matter?
Alissa arrived so well-prepared! She found a spot to set up a classroom setting for our small group (our back deck worked well), handed out personalized instruction booklets, and immediately engaged our kiddos in games and activities to quickly build a repertoire.
After exploring basic manners concepts and expectations, it was time for dinner. We prepared a kid-friendly, yet often tricky-to-eat meal of spaghetti and meatballs, salad, rolls and butter, and soup. (Cookies were saved for the end of the session as a treat!). Alissa did a gorgeous job of in-the-moment instructing our children while they ate their meal. And she was so knowledgeable! We parents learned so much by observing the meal as well!
When dinner was finished, Alissa brought the kids back out to the deck for some focused social skills training. Basic things like eye contact, shaking hands, how to say hello and address elders may seem simple, but they matter and need to be taught.
And she made it so fun! Our kiddos all howled with laughter when she whipped out the curly grey wig to simulate the presence of an older person!
She even involved the parents!
Alissa brought a selection of manners-themed picture books to entertain a younger sibling who was there as well.
Do manners matter for your ASD/SPD kid? Does Common Courtesy Kids accommodate this?
Yes, and yes! With a simple email to Alissa explaining our needs, she rolled in with a class and kindness that held my mama’s heart. When she stood over my son and physically held his hands in showing him how to cut and hold his fork? I was done.
So many services for kids do not truly accommodate those with special needs. Common Courtesy Kids is not one of them, and I say this with the purest and utmost sincerity. I was wowed by Alissa’s respect for our situation.
Intrigued? Want to learn more about Common Courtesy Kids and how you can help school the kids in your life about how manners matter?
Alissa is so personable and approachable. Contact Alissa at 610-969-5773 or email courtesykids@outlook.com. And follow along with Common Courtest Kids on their social channels: Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
She will provide you with a customized plan depending on your needs, and friends, let me tell you–her prices are so very reasonable. As in, I am already booking her for the Girl Scout Brownie troop I lead this fall–her sessions are so helpful and so needed!
The truth is, friends, this life is rather short. We have one shot to do it well while caring for and loving those around us. If we can do it with skills and class that communicate respect for those around us, all the better for it. If we can not make a mess of ourselves at the dinner table in the process, it’s a total win 😉
Manners do matter–in a very big way!
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Janine Huldie says
What an awesome service and love that she actually comes to the home to help teach manners as this truly seems to be a dying thing with youngsters. I am not sure what is going on with our generation. But still, I remember when we were growing up how manners were most definitely taught and stressed. So, there is a true need for this now more than ever and love that she offers this service.
Meredith says
This generation is SO different, for sure! If you want your child to be polite in today’s world, you have to work so hard as a parent! Thankful to Common Courtesy Kids for helping with this 🙂
Meredith says
Wow, what a cool concept!!
Meredith says
Isn’t it, though? So needed in our world today too!