• Holiday Top Ten Really Best Table Manners for Kids
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Holiday Top Ten Really Best Table Manners for Kids

My question is about table manners for kids.

My two kids have the worst table manners. My mother-in-law is a stickler for good manners. She’s prim and proper and thinks her five and seven-year-old grandchildren should tote the family line and have good table manners, as well. The big problem is that their friends don’t know how to behave nicely at the table, and kids like to fit in with other kids. Any suggestions?

–CM, Arden, NY

Thank you for your question about table manner for kids.
     Find time to take your kids out to eat where there are other people eating. A breakfast out on the weekend.  At home you’re too busy serving them their food and cleaning up after them, so you’d be less likely to have the patience to talk about table manners in a playful manner.
      Role model good table manners and quietly point out the bad manners of other diners.
  • Talk about outside voices versus inside voices in enclosed spaces — such as a restaurant.
  • To keep them focused, play a mind game while waiting for your food.
  • Talk about why you use a napkin and where it goes.
  • Elbows on the table are the primary reason why milk glasses topple over.
  • Don’t lay your arms and head on the table for the same reason.
  • Flatware is not about waving flags and remains on the table or plate when not in use.
  • Chew with your mouth closed.
  • Don’t talk with your mouth full.
  • Sit up straight, with feet on the floor.
  • Bring food to your mouth and don’t eat like a dog with your head in the bowl.
You know the drill. Make table manners make sense to your children. When they mirror your good table manners, they win a chance to estimate the tip when the check comes — and get to keep the change.
 
Reward the child with a present — something other than food — for having been a good, happy guest on Thanksgiving day.

~Didi

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