Manners -- They're Not Learned by Osmosis!

 While attending a holiday gathering of adults and teenagers last night, we witnessed something that is prompting this column today:  As the crowd formed a line for the buffet table, two teenaged boys knew to step to the side and wait for the adults to go first. And this is the point -- they knew what to do and they did it. We were floored. Any display of social savior faire by kids today is VERY rare, and this was a fresh breath of air. When we passed them we commented on their good manners and class -- "Thank you for your thoughtfulness. You've been taught well!" we told them. They just smiled and nodded.  

And this is the other point: somebody taught them how to behave -- manners aren't learned by osmosis. These boys were a credit to their parents, but unfortunately, kids "making their folks proud" is seen less and less in our society today. For whatever reasons (and we think the media is playing a HUGE role here), kids are behaving badly (there are even TV shows that celebrate this -- "Girls Gone Wild" and "The Bad Girls Club," for instance). And for whatever reasons, this trend seems to be growing and it's our sense that it's even being winked at. We're here to say "Enough already. It's time the socially ignorant received some training!"  

 In looking at this issue, we at Woogi World asked what could be done to address at least some aspect of it? And this is where our "controlled chat" came from. We took an entity that's here to stay (online chatting), and defined and refined it for the purpose of teaching kids what is and what isn't socially acceptable in terms of verbal interaction. Since cyber-chatting isn't going away, why not train kids in the proper use of this tool -- give them a safe place to make mistakes, learn from them, and emerge socially cyber-gracious, we concluded.   

 Then we added the elements of accountability and coaching. Our Online Kids Coaches closely monitor Woogi chat -- kids don't get away with anything on Woogi World. Here's a typical coaching modus operendi: Let's suppose little Susie attempts to say something unkind (even with a contained and controlled vocabulary, kids are very creative). A coach sees it, calls her on it and holds her accountable. It's explained to her why what she said is wrong, and what she could have done differently. Depending on the infraction and frequency, Susie may be asked to write a note of apology or she may be banned from chat for a while. You can bet that after this coaching, she understands that certain things (like online chatting) are a privilege and if she wants to participate, she'll have to behave accordingly. And chances are good she's translating this lesson into other areas of life, like classroom or playground behavior, for instance.  

Every day now, kids on Woogi World are learning that being rude, unkind, uncouth, etc. doesn't fly. And they're also learning that being nice is not just OK, it's COOL! We're confident that as time goes on, Woogi World kids will be a generation that will "make their parents proud".  

To that end we're working hard at Woogi World to support you as parents. So we're interested in your thoughts on the state of kids today and what more we can do to help you in your efforts in raising your families, so talk to us. Parenting is a tough job, but remember you're not alone. By now you know our motto: "We're all in this together, and together we can make great things happen"