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How To Teach Eating Etiquettes To Your Child

By

The Vine Childcare Center

Teaching table manners to children will help them in their entire life. Eitherits a friend’s birthday party or interviewing for a job, demonstrating propereating etiquette is critical for fitting in socially.

It is better for the children to learn these manners as early as possible. Thebest way for them to learn proper etiquette is, seeing the good examples ofadults.

If you’re ever in doubt about how to teach any of the following eatingetiquettes, start by modeling it yourself.

Saying hello and greeting everyone at the table sets a good tone for the meal.

If a child forgets to greet everyone, simply provide a quick reminder.

Dinner should be a time for family to sit down together and share about their days.

Greeting People

It may seem like a trivial concept to wait until the entire family is seated to start eating.

While there is nothing wrong with someone taking a few bites before everyone else, waiting sets a good precedent.

Waiting until Everyone is Seated to Start Eating

It is a perfect way for young children to be involved in the meal.

Teach them how to arrange all the stuffs like plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses and napkins on the table.

With a little practice, they'll be able to do it all on their own while you finish getting the food ready.

Setting the Table

Sitting still for more than a few minutes at a time is the hardest part for many children.

Consider their age and attention span before setting expectations for the dinner table.

For some children, sitting for five minutes at a time may be the limit while for other children, 15 minutes is a reasonable standard.

Sitting Still While Eating

Always encourage your kids to use “please” and “thank you” while asking for food and other items (i.e. napkins) at the table.

It is also important to teach children how to pass the food.

Asking for What They Want

Taking appropriate sized bites of food, chewing with your mouth closed, and swallowing quietly is the key for proper dinner table etiquette.

It's also important to discuss how chewing large chunks of food too quickly can increase the risk of choking.

Chewing and Swallowing Politely

The sooner you can start teaching your children how to use utensils and napkins, the sooner they'll start mastering the skills.

It's important for kids to learn when to use utensils and when it's okay to eat food with their fingers.

Provide gentle reminders to use napkins to wipe mouths and fingers until they start getting in the habit of using them on their own.

Using Utensils and Napkins

Kids need to learn that it's not okay to say rude things about the meal while eating, even when they don't like all of the food in front of them.

Instead of saying “that's gross” or “the food is yucky,” encourage kids to say things like “no, thank you” or “I don't want any more.”

Respecting the Food

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