AS a matter of fact, it is never too early to begin to acquire
the technique of correct eating, and the nursery is the best
possible place for the first lessons in dining-room behavior.
Children should be taught at an early age the fundamentals of
“table” manners in such a way that by the time they have reached
the years of manhood the correct use of knife, fork, spoon and
fingerbowl is to them almost second nature. But the parents
should remember, above everything else, to instruct their
children in such a way that the pupil takes pleasure in his
lessons. This is the method which is employed today in every
successful school or “kindergarten”; this is the method which
really produces satisfactory results.
Thus, for example, if you are a father and your boy Edward
persists in bringing his pet tadpole to the table in a glass jar,
you should not punish or scold him; a much more effective and
graphic method of correcting this habit would be for you to
suddenly pick up the tadpole one day at luncheon and swallow it.
No whipping or scolding would so impress upon the growing boy the
importance of the fact that the dinner table is not the place for
pets.
Another effective way of teaching table manners to children
consists in making up attractive games about the various lessons
to be learned. Thus, whenever you have guests for dinner, the
children can play “Boner” which consists in watching the visitor
closely all during the meal in order to catch him in any
irregularity in table etiquette. As soon as the guest has
committed a mistake, the first Child to discover it points his
finger at him and shouts, “Pulled a Boner, Pulled a Boner!” and
the boy or girl who discovers the greatest number of “Boners”
during the evening is rewarded with a prize, based on the
following table of points:
If the guest has dirty hands, 5 points.
If the guest uses wrong fork or spoon, 5 points.
If the guest chokes on bone, 8 points.
If the guest blows on soup, 5 points.
If the guest drops fork or spoon, 3 points.
If the guest spills soup on table, 10 points.
If the guest spills soup on self, 1 point.
Of course it is often well to tell the guests about the game in
advance in order that they may not feel embarrassed but will
enter thoroughly into the spirit of this helpful sport.