Maralee McKee - Manners That Matter for Moms: The Essential Book of Life Skills for Your Kids

Are you looking for a map to guide your children on the right roads, around the detours, and through the scenic routes so they will shine with hearts of kindness? Manners That Matter for Moms is a current and friendly GPS designed specifically for you to navigate your children toward a genuine consideration for others, which is unquestionably the essence of manners. In this intimate book written in mom-to-mom style, Maralee shares personal stories that span the gamut of our emotions and identify our unasked questions. As a mom of two boys, Maralee gets how hard it is today to raise gracious children in our often raw culture. This book will give you the how-to of making manners not merely a list of rules. Your children will never be stilted or performing. Youll find here how to make manners an easy, impressive way of life that benefits your child and your family and is in sync with how we live today.

One aspect of parenting is to craft with great intentionality childrens behavior in order to shape their hearts. Manners build character. Start today with Maralees book as your guide.

Manners that Matter for Moms covers the most important topics in child rearing in a light but informative way. The book was reassuring for me and is sure to be a blessing to young moms who want what is best for their children. At some point, we all come to the end of instructing our children and let them go into the world to make their own decisions. Its nice to see that our hard work of setting examples and instructing helps children become great adults. This book is a wonderful compass for moms.

Manners matter, and since our children will live in our homes only 21 percent of our lifetimes, its essential that we reach them through simple daily connection points. In a time when manners seem all but forgotten, your children will have a huge advantage if you show them how to carry themselves wisely. Maralee McKee will teach you how to do that in this practical life-application resource, which systematically guides parents in building extremely successful kids.

What a joy it is for me to endorse Maralees new book on manners. I feel very strongly that America needs this information and encouragement so moms (and dads!) can teach their kids proper behavior. Maralee, in her warm, practical, and up-to-date style, shares simple skills children will need in order to flourish in our current culture. Young adults who havent been exposed to these skills while growing up could also use this book. Regardless of your age, it will help you gain confidence in all your relationships. This information is broader than just etiquette. It takes so little to be above average, and this book will help you do that.

Maralees writing is compassionate and completely engaging. This immensely helpful guide offers parents and children timeless principles for kindness, sensitivity, and courtesy in todays world.

Want to give your child a social safety net? Maralee McKee shows how manners provide just thatthey put us at ease and help us to put others at ease so that we can feel confident to go out and turn the world upside down for God!

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Verses marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Verses marked AMP are taken from The Amplified Bible, Copyright 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

All emphasis in Scripture quotations is added by the author.

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover photos Eric Audras / Getty Images; iStockphoto / JaniceRichard, Funwithfood; Fotolia

Backcover author photo Angela Robbins Hull, True Moxie LLC

Maralee McKee is represented by MacGregor Literary, Inc. of Hillsboro, Oregon

MANNERS THAT MATTER FOR MOMS

Copyright 2012 by Maralee McKee

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKee, Maralee

p.cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN 978-0-7369-4489-2 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-4490-8 (eBook)

1. Etiquette for children and teenagers. I Title.

BJ1857.C5M385 2012

395.1'22dc23

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

W hat an honor it is for me to introduce my dear friend Maralee to you! I only wish I could do so in person, but believe me, you holding this book is the next best thing.

If you dont know her yet, you might be reading this first page with a bit of trepidation. I can hear the thoughts now: A book about manners for kids? But Ill bet Maralees children are perfect. She has no idea what my kids are like! She couldnt possibly understand the challenges I face!

Relax and take a breath. Ive known Maralee and her family for years. Our families have vacationed together, ridden roller coasters together, eaten french fries with extra ketchup together, and hosted slumber parties for each others kids. I can tell you that her boys are well-mannered and kind, but that doesnt mean theyre perfect or that Maralee expects them or anyone else to be. The McKees are actually one of the most relaxed and fun families we know. In fact, when you read this book youre in for a unexpected treatlearning the real meaning of manners, which has nothing to do with attaining perfection or expecting it from others.