3. Hello, Goodbye
Adults do it all the time—greet people when they see them, and say adios when it’s time to go. But children often forget these basic salutations. “They’ll leave a playdate without even saying goodbye to their friends, if they’re preoccupied or distracted, or just unsure of how to end things,” says Jackie, a mother of two boys and a girl. Acknowledging the beginning and end of a conversation or encounter isn’t just common courtesy, it’s a skill that children will use for the rest of their lives—at job interviews, on dates, or sitting down with a college admissions officer.
