Social Skills-Thank You Notes

Had my birthday yesterday and sat down today to send some thank you notes for the gifts I received. Does anyone else do that any more?

My parents MADE ME send thank you notes when I was a kid. I then followed suit and can recall saying to my kids, “If you are not grateful enough to take 5 minutes and write a thank you, then I’m sending this gift back!” (Yep, I was one of the those parents who made threats … and not idle ones my kids will attest to.) Let’s face it … thank you notes are a powerful statement of etiquette knowledge as well as a necessary habit to form early on in life. Hand written notes, which can be as short as a few sentences, take only a few minutes to do, and have huge benefits …

  1. gift giver feels appreciated
  2. gift giver knows you received a mailed gift
  3. allows receiver to build a stronger relationship with giver
  4. shows receiver knows and chooses to use good manners and rules of etiquette

The rule says if you are able to thank someone in person, a note isn’t needed, but it never hurts. And although thank you notes sent via email or text are not preferred, they certainly are better than not sending one at all.

So, I encourage adults to teach children as young possible to send a note of gratitude. There is nothing sweeter than a picture (or scribble) thank you card. Adults can always print what a 3-year wants to say. Know what I mean?

Start now if you haven’t been sending thank you notes for things or have just got slack on the practice … everyone will thank you!

Make the most of your day!

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