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Family Dinner Table Etiquette

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Cup and plate on a table

Our family sits down to a family dinner together almost every night.  We make it a priority to eat dinner together so we can reconnect and talk about the day.  So when I heard SocialMoms and Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese were looking for bloggers to write about dinner time tradition and etiquette I knew it was a topic I had experience with.  Now my kids are 11, 14 and 18, so we have different issues than a family with younger children would have.  Here are my Dos and Don’ts of Dinner Table Etiquette with Teens:

Do:

    • Wait until everyone gets to the table to start eating.  I don’t care how “starving” you are, you can wait to start eating until the entire family arrives at the table.
    • Sit properly in the chair.  This should be obvious, but the older my kids get the worse they get about this.  My teen daughters like to put their feet on the chair so their knees stick up above the table.  “Put your knees down” has been a constant refrain at our dinner table in the past few months.  Tipping the chair back is also very popular with them.
    • Take a small taste of everything.  Even if it is something you are sure you won’t like it doesn’t hurt to try a few bites.
    • Listen attentively to the conversation and make an effort participate.  When someone asks you what you did at school today “nothing” is not a good answer.

Don’t:

  • Don’t rush through grace.  We don’t say grace every night, but when we ask the kids to say it we want them to at least pretend to be reverent and not rush through a grace so fast the words are unintelligible.
  • Don’t criticize the cook.  We all take turns cooking and politeness to the person who made the effort to make dinner is important.  Nit picking is especially annoying. 
  • Don’t interrupt someone who is talking, even if they are telling a confusing and pointless story about friends of theirs who you can’t even keep straight.
  • No electronics – this includes iPods, phones and netbooks.  When I was a kid I was yelled at for reading books at the table, now it is electronics.
    What most of these have in common is simple politeness.  Being considerate and polite can go a long way towards making dinner time a relaxing family event, not a battleground.

Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Kraft Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

anne

Hi, I’m Anne!

I love to cook and I want to share my recipes with you. I believe cooking should be approachable and fun, not a chore. I want to make simple recipes using everyday ingredients that you can make again and again, whether it is for a busy weeknight, a summer cookout or a special dessert. Read more...

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