More often than not, you can tell exactly how a person was brought up within the first few minutes of meeting them. There's no one defining factor that shines through in those raised on the values of kindness and manners, but rather a bunch of small things that give you glimpses into their past.
Of course, you can just as easily spot those who clearly never received those vital lessons in etiquette from their parents. In some cases, you wonder if a person has ever once even uttered the words "thank you" to another human being! This can be sort of a blessing in disguise — that way you'll know to steer clear of them from the get-go.
Scroll through below to see Reddit users reveal 14 specific ways you can tell you were raised right, thus making the world a little bit brighter.
Did we miss any of the keys you look for in a person? Leave us a comment and be sure to SHARE with your loved ones!
[H/T: Reddit]
1. You are kind, yet humble
"When they look for ways to be helpful. Bonus if it takes them out of their own way, and even more bonus if they don't mention it afterwards." – laststandman
2. You never sassed or ignored your teacher
"As a teacher, kids who say hello when they come in your classroom. And kids who say thank you. And kids who say excuse me." – glouns
3. You respect others' belongings
"Last week I was playing in the park with my son and this kid was hovering around us, very obviously interested in the sand toys we brought we us. I asked him if he wanted to play with us and he said 'I have to go ask my mom first.'
"It sounds simple but with that short response you can tell his parents taught him not only to respect other people's things but also to look our for his personal safety. The kid was 5, that's a well raised kid." – HouseTully
4. You also respect their time and money
"My mom always taught me to show up places 15 minutes early. I feel terrible if I'm late! I can't stand to think someone is waiting on me. I've been described as 'freaky punctual.'" – suelinaa
5. You know proper eating etiquette
"They chew with their mouth closed and don't make gnarly eating sounds." – msmaidmarian
6. You treat the possibility of defeat with grace
"A few weeks ago I was stopping at McDonald's with my kids for lunch. My youngest asks me, 'Daddy can we get the toy meal? It's ok if we can't but I really want one.' You bet your a** she got the Happy Meal. She amazes me with how mature she is for a 6-year-old." – jombeesuncle
7. You share your wealth
"My twins gave their Chuck E Cheese tickets to some smaller kids the other day. The big mouse came out and threw tickets in the air and all the kids had to scramble to pick them up. The big kids (mine are 5 years old) all got a bunch while the littles got none. My kids just walked up to the small kids and said, 'Here you go…' Choked me up." – octobertwins
8. You're not always on the defensive
"When someone is obviously in the wrong, and they know it, they apologize and work towards not making a mistake like that again. Most people will deny it until the other person gives up, or get all defensive about how it was not a big deal." – holycrudmuffins
9. You have the patience to wait your turn
"I work in a grocery store. Properly raised children wait their turn. They don't expect to be looked at or fawned over just because they exist. They don't feel entitled to get everything they want exactly when they want it. Adults who weren't raised that way act worse in public than well-behaved three-year-olds." – MushroomStalk
10. You clean up after yourself
"A more obvious point: they don't just drop whatever they're holding on the floor for everybody else to clean up.
"Last week when I went shopping I walked past a young couple with two kids around age 6 or so who had just received some complimentary popcorn from the store and one of the kids took a handful of popcorn and just dropped the entire bag on the floor. Then the other kid followed suit. Both of the couple watched them do this, looked up at me and said, 'Kids, you gotta love em,' and just kept on walking as if they did nothing wrong." – Licensed2Chill
11. You can see through others' eyes
"When they don't just say, 'Well he does that because he's a moron,' but instead say, 'Well, if he thinks that and that, I can see why he would do that, even if I wouldn't.'
"It's even double nice, because it's the kind of people with whom you can actually argue. They'll try to explain their argument but won't dismiss yours, and will respect your opinion enough to not try to convince you at all cost." – Itanagon
12. You make sure everyone feels included
"I dated a girl once who was really boring, I'm not sure what I saw in her at the time. But I was into her, and my best friend tried to make the best of it. He would go out of his way to ask her about things she was interested in, ask her about a test she just took, etc. He wanted to try and bring her into the conversation so she would feel more comfortable.
"I knew he didn't care an ounce about anything she was saying, but I truly appreciated that he was willing to do that to include someone. He was raised well." – ilovethatpig
13. You show appreciation for others' hard work
"My significant other's little brother is thirteen years old. He came to stay the weekend with us and he was so ungrateful. I made everyone a huge dinner and when I got him his food, he said, 'Wow about time.' I took his plate until he said sorry and thanked me.
"It took about two hours. And I'm sure I'm a horrible person for doing so in his eyes." – FashBug
14. You respect others' space
"Twice in the last week I have had to push my way through people because they were standing in the way while waiting for a crosswalk while completely blocking people coming from the other side.
"One lady watched as a few of us crossing at the same time approached and continued to stand and watch as we all tried to find different paths through the line of people queued up to cross in the other direction. Finally I just had to push through. It makes me really angry when I have to touch strangers just to walk down a sidewalk. It's a lose-lose situation when people don't pay attention." – VikingNYC
Did we miss any signs that a person was raised right? Let us know in the comments and SHARE with your friends!
These stories are based on posts found on Reddit. Reddit is a user-generated social news aggregation, web content rating, and discussion website where registered members submit content to the site and can up- or down-vote the content. The accuracy and authenticity of each story cannot be confirmed by our staff.
