Table Manners

Every family has a different outlook on manners. How a child should act at the dinner table depends on what you as a parent think is appropriate. It is hard enough just getting kids to sit down for more than five minutes to eat dinner. But, if you want to reinforce good table manners with your children, here are a few tips.

Eating with a fork - around the age of 3, you can begin explaining the difference between finger foods, like hot dogs or a soft pretzel, and foods you eat with a fork, like steak or spaghetti.

Switching from the shirt to the napkin – also around age 3, you can start to remind your children to use their napkin instead of their shirt sleeve. This not only reinforces good table manners, it will also save you money on stain remover and new clothes.

Please and thank you – if you are trying to reinforce the use of please and thank you with your children, the table is a good place to start. Have your kids practice these skills when asking for or receiving food. When eating at a restaurant, you can also reinforce the importance of thanking others outside of the family when they do something nice for us.

Eating slowly – it’s not only good manners, it is good for your health. Eating more slowly and chewing thoroughly is helpful for overall digestive health, it reinforces good manners and it will give you more time to talk and get to know what’s going on in your child’s life.