Teaching table manners

[Jane Elliot]

My children eat like barbarians. I first realized this the other day when I took one dd and one ds to a nice restaurant with my mother. My oldest five are fine, but somehow I've slacked off with the rest. Last night at the table I was observing and :ohmy:

 

I think mainly it's because at the dinner table we're talking and enjoying each other, and I just haven't paid attention for awhile to anything but the conversation. I don't want to ruin our fun family dinners by harping about table manners, but something's gotta change! I need some fun ideas for civilizing my dc.

 

How do you teach table manners?

[Ellie]

Instruction, correction, modeling. Repeat endlessly for 18 years. Really. :glare:

[In The Great White North]

Instruction, correction, modeling. Repeat endlessly for 18 years. Really. :glare:

 

:iagree:

 

Although you might interest the girls in a formal, dress up, tea party with some friends for some special occasion.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I agree that it doesn't come easy.

 

I must have said "Please chew with your mouth closed.", "Don't stuff all that food in your mouth.", "Use your utensils." and "Don't talk with food in your mouth." at least 2,000 times by now.

[Spryte]

We struggled with this with our 20 yr old. He lived with us the majority of the time, and with his mother every other weekend and a few nights each week. Two different households with radically different values and parenting approaches... Boy, was he confused. Meals at his mother's were ... sporadic, and mostly in front of the TV or computer.

 

The above suggestions were the backbone of our approach but we also played a lot of silly games. We would sometimes dress up for meals and try to outdo each other on manners, we put on silly accents and exaggerated our manners, we instituted rewards for manners, and we developed wordless hand signals to remind the kiddo about his manners. The best part of our plan, though, was that once every so often we'd throw manners to the wind, have the messiest possible meal and just let him have at it. Ribs were a big hit for this. :)

[Parrothead]

Instruction, correction, modeling. Repeat endlessly for 18 years. Really. :glare:

:iagree:

[regentrude]

Instruction, correction, modeling. Repeat endlessly for 18 years. Really. :glare:

 

:iagree:

 

I don't think there is any shortcut.

[alpidarkomama]

We have a "manner of the week" that we focus on at the table (sometimes two weeks!). This week, it's not making noises or songs at the table, just quiet eating and pleasant conversation. It's nice to just focus on one thing until it comes more naturally instead of correcting everything at once! :)

[JennyD]

Instruction, correction, modeling. Repeat endlessly for 18 years. Really. :glare:

 

Sigh. I may have to just lie down and weep.

[Marylou]

It's hard to watch barbarians eat . . . BTDT (D=doing). However, I know it gets on my dh's nerves to have me correcting all the time, so I've tried to make it a point to do the correcting at lunch when he's not around. At breakfast and supper I just grin and bear it. Well, no grinning. I just bite my tongue. It's hard, but I do it. I feel for ya.