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An Arab author is helping parents in Bahrain to teach their cheeky children good manners and decorum with the release of her latest book, Etiquette – From Childhood To Adolescence.
Natalie Daher has spent her career writing informative books and lecturing parents, teachers, diplomats and even politicians about the subject of etiquette after undertaking a degree in sociology in her native Lebanon and conducting further research on protocol and image consultancy in Switzerland and London.
Natalie’s passion for writing saw her release her first book, Etiquette: Science and Elegance, in 2010, and saw it rocket to the top of bestseller lists in its genre.
She said: “My first book covered all social aspects of a grownup’s life, with a section concerning business etiquette too. My aim was to provide a book that you’d have next to your bed and open every time you had an unanswered question about a difficult situation you’re facing.
“My second release is a guide for parents, with tips about etiquette for kids and what they should learn from an early age.
“Etiquette is a code of behaviour, based on three pillars: respect, honesty and consideration.
These principles are timeless and universal, although the way of showing it can differ from one region to another, or via culture, religion and other nuances.
Natalie runs an extremely busy life, which not only involves her being a teacher at Sagesse University Faculty of Hospitality Management, but also the CEO of the Training Centre for Etiquette, Image Consultancy & Governmental Protocol (ETIC) and making regular appearances on MTV Lebanon to discuss her passion.
She took time out of her schedule earlier this year to visit Bahrain and the Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (GPIC), where she distributed copies of her book which were subsequently passed on to schools around the kingdom to instil good manners to the next generation.
She explained: “Bahrain was a wonderful experience and remains very dear to my heart. My first visit was to do training for an official establishment and I met GPIC president Dr Abdulrahman Jawahery and he was very interested in the material.
“He told me that he persistently gave his team training in business etiquette because he believed in the importance of using it to become internationally competitive and to enhance the performance of the employees.
“Some time later, he asked me if I had a new release planned, and I presented my new book to him. To my great surprise the company offered to sponsor it! I was overwhelmed by GPIC’s generosity and willingness to take responsibility to offer this book to as many officials and schools as possible.”
Natalie has two sons, Karim, 20, and Nadim, 19, who have had the importance of etiquette drilled into them since before they could walk. She said: “I guess they are proud of my achievements but it’s not easy to have me as a mother as I have been very strict with them!
“None of my work would have been possible without the support of my parents, Massoud and Sonia, who are both professors, and my amazing sisters Mira and Farah.”
Natalie plans to launch a new school with a unique twist in the very near future, and its aim is to train and teach soft skills for officials in high positions. In the meantime, it is hoped tearaway teens and problematic pupils around the kingdom will be learning the error of their ways and become more positive influences on society due to her work.
Natalie’s Top 5 tips for terrible teens
Oh dear parents, if you want to have a ‘zero fault behaviour’ teenager then you are dreaming! It’s practically and theoretically impossible, but we can get near, so I offer you these tips to achieve it:
* To gain respect you must give it … and good manners starts first with yourself. Please watch out for your own behaviour, as your kids will firstly imitate you.
