Kids aren’t rude. It’s the adults who need to learn some manners

A colleague recently told me how getting on the bus proved a real eye-opener for her. Every student who got off the bus thanked the driver. The adults, not so much.

The average train commuter can attest that good manners in adults is in short supply.

If sorry is the hardest word, then why does it so often spill out of the mouth of babes?

Almost on autopilot a child is programmed to apologise – along with the token “please”, “thank you” and “I need to go to the toilet NOW.”

Given most parents eager to raise well-mannered children as a reflection of themselves, preschools are full of toddlers who quickly learn the ramifications of not sharing, with their emotional wellbeing hinging on whether they have more gold stars on the rewards chart than their friends.

Once on to primary and high school, the manners police are out in force. You want to play sports? Be nice. Nobody wants to train a jock with attitude. Same goes the School Representative Council – bratty teens need not apply.

You get my drift. While octogenarians might want to swing their Zimmer frame in the directions of teens and accuse young people of being rude, the reverse is true. Kids, even when armed with raging hormones and an emergency stash of Clearasil, are kinder and have better manners than the brats who raised them.

I have lost count of how many times I have been pushed aside by an adult wanting to move beyond me a supermarket. A simple “excuse me” would suffice, but with trolleys front-ending like a bull in a Spanish rink, you’d think their life depended on buying toothpaste.

The lack of manners on the train is also dire. Nobody wants to be there breathing the same stale air, but it’s not your personal space. Men, take note: try crossing your legs or putting them closer together. If school kids can cram into a train and stand in the vestibule area with backpacks the size of an inner-city apartment, then surely grown adults can find the space to fit their thighs on one seat.

And women, you may have paid more for your bag than most people pay on their monthly mortgage, but unless your bag has its own Opal pass, I suggest you move it off the seat. Averting your eyes out the window will not dissuade passengers from wanting to rest their toosh.

A colleague tells me how a recent bus trip proved to be a real eye-opener in that every student who got off the bus thanked the driver. The adults, not so much.

Of course, if you want to see real adult manners in action, just take a drive in Sydney during peak hour. Clearly, I say this in jest. With four-letter obscenities flying in all directions and the middle finger getting a work out, it’s pitifully clear adults could learn a thing or two from their children.

With no gold stars to hand out or even sporting teams to dropped off, perhaps it’s that adults are simply not held accountable. The end result? Good manners have become child’s play.