Raising Kids Teaching a Child to Greet People By Katherine Lee facebook linkedin Katherine Lee is a parenting writer and a former editor at Parenting and Working Mother magazines. Learn about our editorial process Katherine Lee Updated on May 09, 2020 Print Graham Monro / gm photographics / Getty Images Teaching a child how to greet people will help in their development of social skills. The greeting sets the tone of all social interactions. A child who is naturally shy or introverted may benefit from knowing the proper form and being able to use it with confidence. An extroverted child may need structure to be more appropriate rather than abrupt with greetings. How a child presents themself to others upon meeting them will say a lot about how well-mannered they are, and this important skill will carry them into their adult years. If you’ve ever met an older child who is surly or uncomfortable when greeting people, you know how important it is to instill these skills in kids at an early age. How to Teach Table Manners How to Teach Your Child to Greet People Some kids will pick up on manners and social skills like proper greetings Be Supportive and Encouraging Review how things went with your child soon after he greets someone. If he wasn’t able to muster a hello, then reassure your child that you know that he will do better next time. If your child feels discouraged or feels like he didn't do something right or made a mistake, encourage him to learn from this experience and apply it to the next chance he has to greet someone. If things went well, tell him how proud you are of him for greeting someone so nice. Say something like, “You made that person feel so good and brightened their day with your voice,” suggests Rossi. Help Your Chid Develop Self-Confidence Eye Contact Teach your child to look for the color of people’s eyes. Making eye contact is an important part of greetings. Young children may feel shy about looking into people’s eyes, and this is a way to help them feel less intimated, according to Patricia Rossi, author of "Everyday Etiquette." Small Talk and Niceties Help them stick to small sound bites. Brief your child right before walking into a store, library, or any other place where your child may meet people, and go over some things she can say. Tell her that if anyone asks how she is doing, all she has to do is say, “Fine, thank you.” Giving your child some short and simple sound bites to work with can help her feel less pressured about coming up with things to say. This can also prevent them from giving too much information that might be a safety issue. Shaking Hands Even kindergarteners can greet someone by shaking hands. Do some role-playing to help your child practice shaking hands and have him greet you with a confident handshake. Teach your child to face someone with his belly button and toes pointed toward that person when greeting that person. Standing Up If your child is seated—say at a restaurant or on the sofa at home—and a visitor or an acquaintance comes into the room or approaches him to say hello, teach him to stand up before saying his greetings. How Shy Kids Can Gain Confidence Make It Fun Don’t forget to make this about having fun and connecting with people rather than presenting it as a chore kids have to do. Have a little fun while role-playing, and be sure to give them lots of praise. Explain to your child that when she greets people politely, they will reward her with compliments. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get expert tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit