I’ve noted that children do not send thank you notes for gifts. My mother always made sure that I sent a thank you for any gift received. I taught my children to send thank you notes. My cousin’s children do not send thank you notes for gifts to their small children.
Generally, I have found kids in the South and West to be pretty good about etiquette. In fact, in Ms. Henry’s Tucson, the folks were so friendly, it took me aback.
Unlike one of the other FReepers, I believe the growing lack of parental control, etiquette and civility have cultivated the narcissism evident on Wall Street as well as affluent communities around the world. The self-esteem movement has accelerated it even more so. The Chinese, Poles and others are all seeing the same things we are, especially in urban areas.
Years ago, it seemed easier to get a group of kids together to sell Christmas wreaths or wash cars to raise money. Now, kids in the affluent suburbs of Chicago don’t want to waste their time doing things like that; they just convince their folks to write a check (although that luxury is finally starting to go by the wayside). These kids are certainly not going to waste their time with a ‘thank-you’ note.
My solution has been to stop sending gifts to those kids who do not send notes. Sometimes, the kids and their families get the message, sometimes they don’t. I’m at the age where I couldn’t care less.