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Tips
on how to Teach your Child Table Manners
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Don't nag your children about it. This
is bound to have the opposite effect. They will take a perverse pleasure
in annoying you by slurping their milk noisily or coming to the table with
unwashed hands.
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What you can do is praise them for displaying
good manners like passing a dish to a guest or saying "please" and "thank
you."
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Don't make mealtimes into a battleground
and constantly pick on your children about all the things that they are
doing wrong. This is a surefire way of killing the appetite, both yours
and theirs. In addition, it's not going to make them any more interested
in becoming part of polite society.
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Set an example yourself. Don't read
the morning paper while eating your breakfast if you don't want your child
to come to every meal with his favourite comic book.
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Don't get into the habit of telling
your child that he is a "pig" or a "slob" every time he doesn't do things
the 'propah' way. If you're going to label him like that, he's not going
to see any point in trying to improve because he will think it 's in his
nature to be a "pig."
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Give your child a break and tell him
that he can make a pig of himself when he is alone because he then he won't
be offending anyone. So he doesn't have to dab at his face with a napkin
if he's alone and has ketchup all over his face.
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When entertaining at home, involve your
children in serving the starters or setting the table so that they can
see for themselves the workings of polite society. You can also try taking
them to a 'real' restaurant once in a while because table manners are hardly
an issue at your local McDonald's. Make it an occasion so that they would
like to live up to it.
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Do not encourage burping competitions
that your child may start with his friends at the table. Make it clear
that you find it rude and offensive and definitely not funny.
It may take some time so don't get discouraged.
Sometimes children act like pigs at home, but behave perfectly when they
are guests in other people's homes. So they are hearing you at some level.
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