Tips For Training Your Children In Basic Table Manners

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When it comes to parenting your children, there are a lot of things you will take responsibility for that will seem quite obvious to you, but one area you might not even think of is that you need to train your children to have proper table manners. After all, most of your meals at home will probably be fairly informal (if they are even eaten at the table at all!), and because of this, it can be easy to completely forget that good table manners are not a matter of instinct, but instead must be taught!

In order for your children to end up with good table manners, of course, they will have to practice good table manners - and this will entail some of your meals being taken at the table; even if your family does not usually sit down at the table to eat, try to change this so that you eat at the table at least once a week, as this will give your children a chance to practice.

First off, always make sure your children are starting off the meal the right way - putting their napkin on their lap, waiting for the "host" (or the person who cooked the meal - which is probably you!) to eat first, and holding their silverware the right way.

Once these practices have become "habits" for them, start focusing on their manners during the meal - which is to say chewing with their mouth closed, not talking with food in their mouth, and (one of the areas that is so easy to forget about!) keeping their elbows off the table.

Your children should ask to be excused from the table before they leave at the end of the meal (or as they get older, they should wait until the "host" is finished eating and has stood up before they stand up from the table) - and through all of this, the most important thing of all for you to remember is this: Your children will watch you, so you must make sure you are modeling the behavior you wish for them to pick up!