A Good Book for Family Conversations

At the beginning of the year, Candace bought a book called “52 Modern Manners For Today’s Teens.” It’s a spiral bound book that sits up well on a table or sideboard. 

This book is really well done. 

Each week over Sunday dinner, we’ll grab the book and read about a new tip. We’ll hold a fun conversation about why it’s important, reference people who are a good example of this trait, and talk about how we’ll try to focus on it in the coming week. 

The next week we’ll look back on how we’ve done and then do it all again. 

We have always tried to be parents who teach about important things like safely using techand organizing finances, but this book has helped us introduce little phrases into our family. For instance, this one was early on:

Now we just say “pitch in” and everyone knows what that means. 

Another example that was really helpful as school and sports picked up and friends helped us get kids to different activities:

Although there are 52 different “modern manners” in the book, there are no dates or specific schedules to keep. You can start the book anytime. 

I would recommend it for any family.