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Step 1
Start teaching table manners at an early age. Even a young child that still eats in a highchair can still have some rules. Allow them to play with their food, but not throw it or the plate on the ground.
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Step 2
Show your children good table manners by doing them yourself. If they see you burping, chewing with your mouth open, or talking with your mouth full, they will do the same. Always lead by example and let your children see what the right way to do things is.
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Step 3
Teach your children that they should place a napkin on their lap before they eat a meal. Encourage them not to slouch or have their elbows on the dinner table. Always use utensils and keep them at the table until the meal has finished or when other children have been excused to play elsewhere.
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Step 4
Practice at home each night how they should pass the food to somebody that requests a certain dish. If they reach out across the table for another piece of bread, stop them and have them ask for somebody to pass the basket of bread instead.
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Step 5
Teach your children that they should chew with their mouths closed and wait until they have swallowed their food before speaking. Explain that they shouldn't gulp down their drink, but to take quiet sips instead.
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Step 6
Tell them what they should not do at the dinner table. This includes no double dipping, licking fingers, or dragging their finger along the icing of a cake.
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Step 7
Be consistent. How you have your meals at home will play a large role in how your children behave in public. Turn the TV off and don't talk on the phone when at the dinner table. Have a nice conversation with your family instead.
