Three kinds of childen

Recently, as an author in Author's Alley at the NJEA convention, I watched the children as they approached my neighbor's table that had a bowl of candy to entice visitors to view her book.  Some teachers brought their children with them and this is what I found:

1. There's the "Snatch and run."  Those are the children who thought we had the treats out for their benefit, as if it were Halloween all over again, according to one little visitor.
2. Then there were the kids who took a piece, and then were reprimanded by their parent to ask first before taking and then reminded the child to thank the bookseller.  (I wonder how many times the parent said that, considering we were near the end of the row!)
3. Finally, you have the polite child who stands drooling in front of the candy.  He looks squarely at the person behind the table, asks permission to have a piece of candy, and then thanks her.  All this happened while Mom was talking to someone else.  AH!  The child, somewhere in his first twelve years, has internalized proprietry. 

How does this happen that some children are so incognizant of other people's feelings while others consider the other person first?  It all goes back to parental counseling and courtesy.  If the parents are kind enough to ask a child for his or her belongings before taking them for whatever reason, that child learns that this is the way you're supposed to behave. 

Bottom line: Behave as you want your children to behave to be a strong role model for maturity!
What kind of child do you have?

Happy parenting!