Don’t Pick Your Nose! The Board Game Which Teaches Good Manners To Children Age 4 to 8

Aug. 14, 2008 - PRLog -- 61% of people polled by the Public Agenda Research Group agreed that there is more rude behavior today than in the past. In the same poll, people blamed parents for not instilling courtesy in their children, and popular culture for encouraging rude behavior (reported on www.ABCNews.com ). But the issue of good manners with children was already top of the agenda much earlier. In 1898, a 'Good Manners for children' code was  issued to Queensland schools by the Department of Public Instruction as part of the systematic teaching of conduct and manners. It started like this: “Courtesy, politeness or good manners means kindly and thoughtful consideration for the other. A celebrated writer had said that a boy who is courteous and pure is an honor to his country. Brave and noble men are always courteous to each other. Three of the bravest and greatest men who ever lived – the Duke of Wellington, General Gordon and General Washington were distinguished for their distinguished for their courteous behavior”. We might today smile at this preamble but fundamentally, the need for children to acquire early the basics of good manners is still as high today as it was then: in 2002, the National Association of Elementary School Principals reported that a lack of good manners among children is a growing problem in the classroom and on the playground.

Often, the failure to instill good behavior in kids by parents not spending enough time on this issue is considered the cause of the problem. Actually, more than 8 in 10 of us, both with kids and without kids, agree that bad parenting is the major cause of bad manners (Bozell Worldwide/US News & World Report Civility in America Study).

Don’t Pick Your Nose! - Etiquette for Children is high quality board game for children 4 to 8 which teaches the basics of modern etiquette and good manners. The game will give your child the basics of home manners, table manners and social manners. From simple greetings to offering a seat to a pregnant women or how to properly set the table and many more, your child will quickly memorize a series of situation and proper reactions to them. The game consists of a set of 36 questions and 6 decks with 6 answers each. Each question and each answer is illustrated (see sample) in a way which is easy to understand for children. Each question and answer and the corresponding illustrations were thoroughly tested by parents, teachers and psychologists to make sure the right words and phrasing were chosen to ensure maximum effectiveness.


How to play? Very simple! The 36 cards are put face down, one is chosen and the question is read. The players look for the answer on the board they have and the one with the right answer covers it with the card and then draws the next question. The winner is the person who has all its board(s) full first.  Please note that many children at this age will not be able to read yet, so the first two rounds need to be played with an adult, but very quickly, all the questions and answers will have been memorized by the children and an adult will not be needed (or even wanted) anymore. The game also has a number on each card and answer to simply the search.


We encourage active participation of the parents at the early stages to put more local context to the etiquette and good manners issues addressed.


The game was created by Tania le Moigne, founder of 4bambini (http://www.4bambini.com), for her son Arsene whom she wanted to help with Etiquette and Good Manners issues but with whom "Don't do this!" and "Don't do that" was not an effective teaching method. Though many books are available from www.amazon.com, no game of this sort was available till this one. The illustrations are the work of Jana Fernandes, a graphic designer and illustrator living in Canada and specialized in children's drawings (More on Jana Fernandes at http://www.firstperson.ca).


The game is endorsed by Mr. Spacek, Mr. Etiquette in the Czech Republic and former spokesperson for President Vaclav Havel. More information on Mr. Spacek can be found on his personal web site http://www.ladislavspacek.cz/.


All materials are of exceptional quality to ensure durability in the hands of our little children.  


The game is published by 4bambini editions and can only be purchased online at http://www.4bambini.com  for 15.99 Euros, roughly 12 British pounds or 24USD.

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4bambini create, design, produces and markets quality family entertainment products. Three board games for children aged 4 to 8 are currently available & more products and services slated for late 2008. More information on www.4bambini.com