Teach Your Children Manners!

Wendy Komancheck
Two-minute Tutor: Teaching your kids manners
Word Count: 433

Whatever happened to manners? I was amazed when I went to the Ephrata Community Pool a few weekends ago. I had my young son with me, and one boy took our swimming noodle. Another child purposely splashed water at us, and he continued to do so after we told him to stop. I talked to the pool manager about it before we left for the day. She was sympathetic and instructed me to make sure the guards are aware of these situations. I must say I was impressed by this young woman’s tenacity.

A few days later, my husband, my children, and I went to the pool again. We had a great time playing in the pool until four to five “big” middle school kids started a water battle in the shallow end where we were playing.

“Hey,” I called up to the lifeguard. “Can you tell these kids to move to the middle of the pool? My sons can’t swim.” My one son was by the wall at the very shallow end, almost overcome by these teens.

The lifeguard sympathized, “Those kids are here all the time. Can you take your kids to the baby pool?”

I was dumbfounded. “No,” I said, “I can’t. My boys are too big for the baby pool. Besides, I paid for a membership as much as those [bigger] kids’ parents did. I have every right to be at the very shallow end of the pool. I complained to the manager about this…”

Her reply: “Well, you can complain to the manager again.”

Amazing---I was getting mad now. “No, she told me to say something to the lifeguard. And you are supposed to do something about it!”

I had to give a couple of angry stares at the feeble lifeguard until she told the kids to move away.

The whole point is typical of society at large. People and their offspring are getting ruder by the generation. The bigger ones overwhelm the smaller ones, and the ones in authority avoid confrontation at all costs.

What am I urging you, as parents, to do? Teach your kids some manners, or if your teens are in positions of authority as a camp counselor or lifeguard, teach them how to do their job. Lifeguarding and camp counseling is not just a job or a time to work on your tan. It’s a job that requires vigilance and safety.

Teach your older kids to be considerate of parents and their young children. Teach your teens to use manners, be considerate, and to share. In other words, teach your kids manners!

Top Ten Sites for PA History in Ephrata PA

Do you homeschool in PA, where the state law requires that you teach your kids PA history? Or, if you’re sending your child to a traditional school setting, you might want to supplement your student’s PA history requirement by visiting the following sites together.

There are plenty of mini field trips for free or low cost that you can do in your local town that adds pizzazz to teaching PA history. Below, I’m listing five out of ten top sites in the Ephrata vicinity where you can visit for free or for a very low price. And, these sites work toward completing your Pennsylvania history requirement.

Take an hour or two to visit the Cocalico Valley Historical Society on Main Street in Ephrata. Call 717-733-1616 for hours and admission prices. The librarian will answer questions about Ephrata history, show you artifacts, and give you a tour of the building. Your objective could be learning the history of Ephrata, alone, where you ask about the early founders, the date the town was incorporated, what major industries were represented in town, what was the first church, the first hospital, the first post office, etc. You may be surprised by what you learn.

Visit the Indian Museum on Cocalico Road, at the Tom Grater Memorial Park. The museum has Indian artifacts and the museum is housed in a historical home.


Call the Playhouse in the Park, and see if they can give you a tour of the theater along with a brief talk on the history of the playhouse, which was started by the American Legion.

The Cloister of Ephrata is a popular place to visit. This time, walk the grounds, as well as take a tour of the buildings. From there, take the path to the War Memorial.

Before your visit to the War Memorial, see if you can find out more information about it through the Cocalico Valley Historical Society. Share that information with your children and then, walk through the cemetery and read the tombstones. When you visit the War Memorial next to the Ephrata Area High School’s stadium and behind the Ephrata Cloister, take time to read the markers of the War Memorial and the placard that describes the founders of the memorial. See what you learn from these markers, and the bodies that are buried there.

If you would like to receive the full copy of the Top 10 PA History Sites within Ephrata’s Boundaries, you can email me at wendykomancheck@yahoo.com.