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Step 1
Teach your child to wash his hands before meals. Even older infants who are beginning to eat finger foods should wash--or have washed--their hands before they sit down to eat.
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Step 2
Correct a toddler when he throws food. Use age-appropriate language such as, "No. We don't throw food." You will need to reinforce this over and over, so don't get frustrated with your child.
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Step 3
Instruct your children in the proper use of utensils. A child's physical development affects how she holds and uses utensils. It is enough that a toddler knows a spoon is for soup and a fork is for vegetables. Don't expect a child that young to hold the utensils perfectly. Older children, however, should be shown how to hold and use utensils properly.
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Step 4
Use good table manners yourself. Children learn what they live. Say "please" and "thank you" when you ask a family member to hand you the salt or applesauce, for example.
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Step 5
Explain to your children that it is polite to wait for everyone to be served before beginning to eat, and then model that behavior for your kids.
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Step 6
Start introducing your children to new foods from an early age. Have your child try a "polite bite" of new foods offered even if the child thinks the food looks unappetizing. Explain to your child that he may think a food is "gross" but that he should keep that to himself rather than express it verbally to avoid offending the cook--be that mom, dad or a friend's parent, really the height of bad manners.
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Step 7
Tell your children that you expect them to say, "May I please be excused?" when they are done eating and wait for permission to leave the table rather than simply getting up and leaving the table whenever they feel like it.
