and they smell better, too...

Polite Kids Are Healthier
11/26/2007

What's the best way to keep your kids healthy?

Well, washing their hands and keeping them out of the garbage probably helps quite a bit. But there's another trick you may want to try: Teaching them to say "please" and "thank you" at an early age.

Proper etiquette isn't just polite, says a new study – it provides considerable health benefits to children. According to the study, kids who participated in regular gratitude exercises were more energetic, more enthusiastic, and more willing to help out than children who weren't exposed to such behavior.

Sounds like it may be time to pull an Emily Post on your kids, if they're not properly trained already.

But there's more to thanking someone than just saying the words, etiquette expert Lyudmila Block told The New York Daily News: "It's really important that a child understand that part of being happy is to share the gratitude that we all have in us and express it more openly and more eloquently."

Even if your kid complains about the ugly doll her grandmother bought her, make sure that she thanks Grandma anyway – and understands why she is doing it.

"We're not thanking people for the value of the gift, or for what we're getting," Bloch told The Daily News. "It's for their thought and kindness and the time that people have invested in us."

from Gimundo