Let the rocket science begin! Many parents think it would be really adorable and impressive if their child could shake hands properly with a new person. Actually, children also find this to be irresistible! It’s a mature look that is so easy to get. You can corner them in the living room or at the dinner table. Start the ball rolling by explaining the why behind this social ritual. And then, try my handy fake script that is yours to modify as you like.What do we do when we meet someone new? (let them answer)

-       A long time ago, you had to be very careful when meeting a new person – He might be an enemy, waiting to hurt you. So, you’d grab his hand; check if he was holding a weapon, a rock or a knife. If his hand was empty, you were friends. That’s how we started shaking hands when we meet someone.

DEMONSTRATION OF HOW TO SHAKE HANDS:

This is what you do. It may seem simple, but you have to get it just right.

Hold out your right hand, even if you are left-handed. The other person will do the same automatically. It works nearly every time! Don’t hold out your hand too soon or you will seem nervous. If you wait too long, you will seem unfriendly. Then you fit your hand to theirs – not too loose, not too tight. Don’t hold your fingers loose and limp, and don’t just take your fingers into your hand. Hold their entire hand, fingers and palm all the way to where you thumbs meet and cross over each other. Then squeeze firmly, not too hard, and shake once or twice.

And for the finale, just in case the little ones are getting overly excited about their new handshake, share this with them:

Remember that having good manners means that you NEVER CORRECT SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT HAVE GOOD MANNERS. It will embarrass them and make them feel badly. Just stay silent and hope they will copy you.

When you have them riveted on the idea of a handshake, you can fine tune their handshake in a fun way. Try this demonstration using creative props e.g. a rubber glove filled with a bit of water and tied at the end; a big salad fork; a big ski glove or a work glove. If you happen to have Halloween items such as a monster hand, skeleton hand, or an alien hand, so much the better.

Here is the banter:

When you shake hands with someone, you’ll know if it’s a good handshake or a bad one. There are some wrong ways to shake hands. You’ll understand better if we act these out.

-       When you shake hands with a limp hand, it’s like holding a wet rubber glove (or slimy skeleton hand) –YUK!

-       When you shake hands with someone who is crushing your hand, it’s like shaking a monster’s hand – OUCH!

-       When you shake hands with just the fingers of someone’s hand, (salad fork tip) it feels WEIRD!

MOTION / DURATION

Shaking hands with a really strong up and down movement feels uncomfortable, be so don’t distract the person you are meeting by shaking too much. 2 or 3 smooth up and downs are plenty. Then let go. The range of motion up and down is 2 or 3 inches. If you don’t shake your hand enough, it seems like you don’t care.

SECOND HANDSHAKE

Shaking hands when you meet is great, but a goodbye handshake is very nice too. Even if the conversation has been awkward or confrontational, a second handshake can tell the person that you still like them.