It’s never too early to teach kids table manners and dining etiquette. But it needs patience and perseverance to guide them the right way.
Train kids to wash their hands before a meal. The pre-meal ritual may easily be forgotten. But a patient reminder will work wonders. If the concept is constantly dinned in, it becomes a natural habit with tots even reminding their parents that they need to wash their hands before eating. Good habits imbibed in childhood stay for life with each generation passing on the finest of manners to the next.
A meal is not just a daily dining habit. It’s the time when the family gets together to share not only a meal, but also the warmth of feelings for one another. It’s the family’s only social time.
The cardinal rule says kids need to be taught to wait for their turn to be served. Apart from bad manners, it’s totally selfish to help oneself before the others. This truth ought to be the first lesson in table manners a kid needs to learn. Little children are attention grabbers and often kick up a racket when they realize they are not getting the attention they naturally crave for. They should be told politely, yet firmly, that they will be attended to while their turn comes. It’s vital to instill the dignity of being quiet and listening to others and not to speak out till they are spoken to.
It’s ungainly to see little kids yapping and throwing tantrums at the dining table just to turn the attention on them. It’s just a question of time before the child realizes the importance of dignified dining and falls in line.
The three basic rules
The primary don’ts of grabbing, gulping and guzzling are the first lessons in dining etiquette and these should begin at the earliest.
Prevent chaos: It’s an unwritten rule that when the child begins to mouth the first bite of food, it should be under the direct guidance of the parent. This truly needs a lot of care, attention and patience. Kids need to be repeatedly reminded of how to eat without messing up the food and the place as well. Parents are to show their children how to eat from within the plate without spilling the food.
Chewing and eating: Show them how to eat. Food needs to be taken in and chewed. Kids should be told that food has to be chewed well while keeping the mouth closed at the same time. Show them how revolting it is to see someone stuffing food into their mouth and then trying to eat a mouthful. Go slow while eating. Tell them that small pieces of food or small balls of rice work better while eating. When food is taken in slowly, it helps in digestion and absorption, two principles all kids need to be told.
Teaching them to serve: Children need to be told not to help themselves to too much on their plates. Food should never be seen in heaps and they can have what they love the most and can come in for more helpings of their favorite food.
Grownup kids can be taught to be aware of those dining alongside them. If they find their neighbor’s plate almost empty, they can offer to serve them or pass the dishes over to them. On the contrary, if they are being helped to more, kids need to be taught to say thank you.
A gentle reminder is all that’s needed. Each meal need not be a lesson in etiquette. It’s vital not to overdo the training, lest it should put off children and bring out the worst in them. Some kids are fast learners and quite natural in manners too. There are others who take things at a slow pace and need a lot of coaxing to get the right act.
And finally, no belching, burping or breaking wind!
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