Children learn by example

Dear Betsy,Thank you for recognising the hard work teachers do. My wife is a teacher at a local school and her work never finishes.

She does not get a big salary or any overtime for all the long hours she does at home to mark assignments, organise projects and prepare interesting lesson plans that will capture the imagination of her students.

She never complains, unlike the parents these days who blame her for everything that befalls their kids.

If they fail a test or get a poor grade, the parents yell at my wife and complain to the principal.

You are so right about bad manners, especially from many parents who seem to think that by shouting they will get what they want.

This is a very bad example to set their kids and I just can't see a happy ending if kids are not taught to respect their elders, and especially their teachers. Please can I ask all parents to teach this to their kids?

Bu Faisal.

Dear Bu Faisal,

Please let your wife know that there are many parents out there who really appreciate the hard work and dedication of committed professionals like your wife.

I am sure that many of us don't even think of all the preparation hours that go into just one lesson and of course, as you say, the marking and grading of papers and projects that many teachers take home with them to avoid disappointing their pupils.

Children learn by example, so hard working, conscientious parents are more likely to encourage their kids to be the same and ditto when it comes to manners. If kids hear and see their parents yelling and berating others in order to get their own way, then I guess that is what they will grow up believing is the correct and normal way to behave and so the story goes on, getting worse and worse.

I know I keep saying it, but 'manners maketh man' and that begins at home with parents.

Teachers have enough to do and it's time some parents accepted their parental responsibilities and actually brought their own children up and taught them basic good values, instead of relying on domestic help and educationalists.

Racial, cultural or religious origins make no difference to this as all of them preach the importance of good manners and respect, so if you are a parent reading this, then please instill these values in your kids as early as possible and reinforce this with your own actions and behaviour as kids really do learn best by example and who knows, some of this good behaviour and manners may well rub off on their more unruly, less polite, friends and classmates.

l Email me your good parenting tips: betsymathieson@hotmail.com

This month I have had the unhappy task of having to renew my car insurance on both family cars. What a nightmare this simple task turned out to be.

The cars are insured with two different companies and I assumed all I had to do was telephone them, ask what the premium was this year and send them a cheque. Well, in theory that should have worked, but that means someone would have to actually answer the phone!

I phoned the first company over and over again, keyed in the correct extension numbers for 'renewing car insurance' each time I was directed to an answer machine, after 10 attempts I gave up.

The next day I tried again and this time after the fifth attempt, someone did answer and told me it was the wrong extension (wrong info on their answering message) and they transferred me to another answering machine. Each time I called I left a message with my telephone number, policy number and a request to please call me back ... two weeks later I am still waiting.

The second company was a similar story, except that I still never got to speak to ANY human, in fact I am convinced that this whole company is one of those 'sham' shadow companies that exist on paper only to get visas to sell on the black market ... okay maybe far fetched but why did not one call me back from this company either?

The worrying thing is that they both claim in their literature to be 'leading Bahrain companies' I would have thought 'misleading Bahrain companies' was more accurate ... do they ever actually make any money?

Well, neither of them got my money this month.

I targeted a completely new company that answered the phone the first time, directed me to the correct extension, where an efficient, polite human being took my details and called me back within a few minutes to give me a quotation.

I suppose there are so many cars on the road now that some of the insurance companies feel they can afford to be blasŽ and lose customers here and there as there are just so many of us around.

Whatever happened to customer service in the car insurance business?

They could learn a few lessons from my friends in the souq.

l Did you have a funny? Bad? Good experience with car insurance? Share it with us: betsymathieson@hotmail.com

BETSY SAYS RELAX

Eat and drink fresh watermelon. It is full of cancer busting lycopene and its high water content and cocktail of vitamins and minerals will ensure your body stays balanced and that's got to be good for keeping those stress levels down. Make fresh juice without added sugar, and for a refreshing spritzer, strain the pulp away and add some soda water and a few sprigs of fresh mint and a squeeze of local Bahraini limejuice.

IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING THIS WEEK

I know it's hot and humid, but take time to visit the old Manama Souq. Wandering around the narrow lanes you are sure to find a few real bargains in amongst the obligatory tat. Where else in the world will the shopkeepers of a 'hole in the wall' offer you a chair, a fan and a cold drink whilst you decide on your purchases? Rediscover traditional Bahraini retail hospitality before it disappears forever.