A father on TikTok insisted that kids are never too young to be taught about social norms and etiquette. He proved this theory with his own two-year-old daughter, sharing the pep talk he gave the young girl before they attended a wedding ceremony.
In the video, shared on TikTok by the girl’s momthe dad calmly explained to his toddler proper wedding etiquette so that she could watch the ceremony without disrupting the bride and groom’s big moment.
“When we first took our seats, she was really excited and chatty and didn’t want to sit still,” he admitted. “We removed her from the ‘fun’ and explained thoroughly what was happening.”
The dad explained to the girl that the bride and groom were about to get married in a ceremony in front of their loved ones.
“Do you wanna go watch it?” he asked the 2-year-old. “If we do … we have to be quiet and we have to just be patient.”
He gave her the option to stay where they were, away from the ceremony, or quietly sit and watch.
“If we do, we can’t be yelling and saying we want things,” he added. “We have to be quiet.”
The little girl’s gaze hardly broke away from her dad’s as he explained the wedding rules. In the end, she opted to watch the ceremony.
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“We have found that taking the time to explain and communicate our environment has made a huge difference in her behavior,” he explained.
His footage serves as a valuable lesson for parents. Young children who throw tantrums in public or have difficulty behaving aren’t necessarily misbehaved kids. Their parents may just not be communicating with them correctly.
Anita Patterson Peppers | Shutterstock
“Expecting a kid to read a room they’ve never been to without context is what is so crazy,” one TikTok user noted. “‘They didn’t behave at the wedding.’ Yeah, because they didn’t know it was any different than playtime.”
“They are so capable and you’d be amazed what they can achieve if you support and believe in them!” another commenter wrote.
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Even if they cannot express every thought they have verbally, it doesn’t mean that young children aren’t present and understanding.
Between the ages of 12 to 24 months, changes in the brain help your toddler understand significantly more words than they can say aloud. They may communicate themselves through nonverbal methods, such as pointing to the kind of food they want for dinner.
Although they may not be able to say, “I understand,” that doesn’t mean that they are incapable of understanding.
If you’re in a restaurant, library, or attending a wedding ceremony and need your toddler to stay quiet, get down on their level and try explaining why it’s important. Ask them to nod if they understand. Although simple, this can often be an effective approach.
However, they may not always listen, even if they understand your exact request. Kids often test their parents to see how much they can get away with!
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Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.
