ANSWERS: 21
  • Yes all parents should! It has to do with respect. Children today seem not to have any respect.
  • Yes!! Please and thank you are also big in our house.
  • No. It belongs to the past.
  • I teach them manners, but i do not teach them to call people ma'am and sir. When they meet people, the name the person uses to introduce themselves is the name I want them to use to address them.
  • I was taught to say those as a child...I never had a chance to teach my child those values. This is more of a old southern thing than a northern. It is loosing popularity now in many places; even in the south. It was never bad to be polite to elders or persons in authority.
  • I taught them good manners but I've never heard anybody in Britain say this, so I didn't teach them to use those particular expressions. I think they are specific to the USA.
  • I have taught my children to say yes ma'am or sir, no ma'am or sir. However when they are around their friends in school who do not practice the same thing they tend to conveniently forget. My dad is a retired Marine so I had to say it 365-24-7 Semper Fi
  • I hate it when kids call me ma'am. It makes me feel old.
  • I don't have children and those terms aren't really used in the UK, but if I did I would teach them to be polite as manners arer very important, although I agree with Jessica, in that if a child asks me my name I always just tell them my first name, as being called Mr. Whatever makes me feel old.
  • No. They are taught respect, but in the UK Sir and Ma'am usued like that are military specific really
  • I am from the south, and was taught to use these terms. I now live in upstate NY and now believe it is a more regional thing, although I do firmly believe in teaching "please" and "thank you". That doesn't appear to be happening a lot these days. It is so sad how the English language is just being pushed aside, be it due to laziness, disrespect, or lack of education.
  • You are kidding. I am not running an institution here.
  • Yes Sir, I am. I expect my child to behave in a respectful manner. She'll go further in life that way.
  • Is it ok to answer to a woman of around the same age as you by saying "yes ma'am"? I am a 27 year old male and I sometimes feel compelled to answer "yes sir/ma'am" because I feel respect for the person. Think about it this way. Suppose I responded to a playful little girl, "yes ma'am", that would be in a joking but still respectful fashion. So as long as you actually connect with any person, you can answer them "yes sir" or "yes ma'am". Also I feel that because we are now in such a sexual society women don't get much "sisterly" respect from most men. So when you connect with them on a sisterly level, saying "yes ma'am" makes your intentions clearer.
  • Yes and they do. I'm proud that they learned to be respectful.
  • No, he would have been laughed at as those terms are not used here. I taught him manners and to respect others and their property. I also taught him that he was not obliged to do whatever any adult told him and that adults were not gods. So many children have walked off with strangers because their parents told them to respect and listen to all adults. A dangerous practice.
  • nope. because i don't have any yet.
  • I don't have children yet, but when I do I would certainly. In my home language Afrikaans you always say "dankie tannie" or "dankie oom" which means literally translated "thank you aunt" and "thank you uncle". But in this context it is the same. Courtesy in our language goes a long way.
  • I taught them to say 'no, thank you' and 'yes, please', but they picked up the ma'am and sir on their own.
  • Absolutely.

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