Mind Your Table Manners

Ah, delicious food. One of life's oh-so-sweet pleasures. When we come to the table to dine we want to bring our appetite, for sure. It's also important to do our best to bring our "A game" when it comes to manners.

Table manners are crucial for children to learn at a young age. They are an important part of building children's social skills confidence. They help all of us to present our best selves to others when dining at home, at a restaurant, or anywhere. Others may not notice when we are using great manners but they will definitely take notice when our manners are lacking!

Is it possible for kids to become an overnight success at table manners? Likely not and that's perfectly okay. Great table manners may not happen overnight but over time children can learn to be their best selves when dining. Modeling good manners at home will also make a tremendous difference.

I've been asked by parents about my top table manners and am excited to share five of them with you!

My Top Five Table Manners for Children (and Adults)

1. Chew food with mouth closed

Guess what everyone else can see when we chew food with our mouth wide open? Gross, chewed up food. Worse yet, if we are talking at the same time, food may actually spill out or get spewed across the table. This doesn't make a good impression on those around us. It can take a long time for children to get this down pat, but practice, practice, practice and they will get there.

2. Wait until everyone is seated before eating

It's so polite to wait for everyone to be seated before eating. Yes, this can be so hard when children are hungry, or even hangry, but it's a wonderful lesson in practicing patience and restraint.

3. Talk with others

Enjoying a meal with others is, of course, about enjoying the food but it's also about connecting with those at the table. I was recently out to eat and glanced at another family seated nearby. I noticed that no. one. said. a. word. . . . they were all on their phones! I am guilty of doing this too sometimes. But the hard truth is that phones can pull our attention away from the important people around us. I'm learning to be more intentional about this to be more present with others, especially my family. For me, physically putting my phone out of sight has been helpful.

4. Use those magic words

I can't deny it. "Please," "thank you," and "you're welcome" are music to my ears. Magic words are really just that . . . magic. When we use them, others are much more likely to listen to what we have to say. We are also showing respect for our selves and others. Magic words matter at the table or wherever we may be - the playground, school, grocery store, or boardroom.

5. Offer to help set up or clean up

LOVE THIS! Offering to help before or after the meal is a BIG PLUS. Putting a meal together can take a lot of time and energy, so offering to help is incredibly polite and sure to win bonus points. This is especially important when we are a guest in someone else's home.

There you have it - my most important table manners narrowed down to just five. There are more and I could go on and on, but we'll leave it at these for now.

Your turn! Leave a comment below and share what are the most important table manners to you?