Habits You Can Reform and Ones You Can't

In general there are 3 categories:

1. Forgive and forget
These types of blunders are more about personal taste than bad manners, so try to shrug them off instead of nagging to get your way:

-You don’t like how he dresses.
-He plays music too loudly in the car.
-He eats too quickly/noisily/unhealthily.
-He doesn’t turn down the TV when you get a phone call.
-You disagree on how much to tip.

There are ways to change his behavior, like offering him a trade of something he wants in exchange for minding his manners.

2. Fix him up by toning him down
By any definition, certain behaviors are impolite, so if your guy’s an offender, you can help him become appropriate. Some specific examples of when you can indeed jump in:

-He curses too much.
-His table manners are suspect.
-He makes jokes about your relationship to your friends.
-He makes no effort not to control his bodily sounds in public.

These types of behaviors happen because he doesn’t know any better. In situations like these it’s not what you say, but how you say it. Be honest.

3. Abandon ship
Forget trying to make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear. Certain behaviors are indicative of deeper problems that won’t be solved by a simple conversation:

-He’s rude to people he doesn’t know.
-He always has to be right.
-He’s immature for his age.
-He belittles you in front of people.
-He’s jealous of your friendships.

This bum from Bumsville is the reason fathers are overprotective. It may seem romantic to date a bad boy who needs fixin’, but this character is broke beyond repair.