Eating habits !

[nannysue]

Is it just me ??........

Why do so many children have to put a whole piece of food(say a fish finger for example) on their fork and then nibble their way through it, instead of cutting it up on the plate and eating in small pieces.

I'm sorry but its really one of my bugbears

[JCrakers]

I have to say that the majority of the children I mind have terrible table manners.
They dont use knives, eat with the mouths stuffed, use fingers, even 1 boy picked up his plate and started to lick it.....

Its a constant battle to get them into shape...

But I have to admit my own two children are not fantastic at eating. My dd aged 9yrs still insists on eating with her fingers and I constantly nag and tell her not to.....

[Tealady]

I keep trying to get my nearly six year old DD to use her knife but she just doesn't seem to get the hang of it. I sometimes wonder if I'm expecting to much or not?

[Maza]

I don't think parents eat with their children that often these days. It's not preparing them for the outside world is it? Imagine them turning up at a business lunch when they are older and eating like that! At school we sent out a newsletter to say that we are really working on table manners and included pointers on what actually counts as good table manners - because I'm not sure some of the parents were too sure themselves!

[loocyloo]

my children USED to eat nicely, but have become dreadful lately ... DD often eats food on her fork as if it was a lollypop! 9yr old DS is currently saying he is left handed ( he has never shown any sign before! ) and insists on eating with his cutlery that way round, but extreemely badly! ( DH who IS very left handed, eats right handedly !!! )

i have a 2yr mindee who stuffs his mouth full and then chomps up & down with his mouth open and all the food at the front of his mouth, and then often has difficulty moving it to the back of his mouth to swallow it!

bad table manners drive me potty!

[tinkerbelle]

iv got a child almost 3 who can not eat properly and i hate it
she crams that much food in her mouth to the point she cant close it nor chew it never mind swallow it she stores the food on the roof of her mouth and most days i have to pick it off otherwise she will put more food in she puts her fingers to the knuckles in her mouth to push food further down to the point were she has been sick
give her anything healthy and these are the problems i have but put chipds in front of her and she eats no problembut with her fingers

[Graham]

I don't think parents eat with their children that often these days.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there, that is spot on in my opinion, how many families sit down to a meal together these days?

[LChurch]

I have to say the mindees I have at mo have good manners, although one I had was awful, he didn't know how to close his mouth when he ate and he couldn't even eat a raw carrot! MY DS nearly 7 has a physical problem which means he struggles to use a knife and fork properly but is begining to get the hang of it although not the normal way! We always sit down as a family for dinner. I refuse to do food for mindees which means that we can sit down as a family. Parents have to provide food, most have no problem doing that! We have very interesting things in lunch boxes, fish pie looks really nice, fish cakes look nice. I sometimes think I would like to have their meals instead!

[breezy]

All my mindees bar one have dreadful table manners and it's not just that they dont sit and eat as a family, the majority of them dont sit at a table to eat, it's on the floor in front of the tv
oh and dont get me started on the noise they make

[WibbleWobble]

nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom ........


mandy xxx

[Joda]

I had lunch at school recently and couldn't believe how many children were eating using just a fork in their right hand.

[Anon8319]

I don't mind 'bad' table manners in children under about 3 years old because I think it would be pretty ridiculous to expect them to know how to hold even one piece of cutlery accurately and know to keep their mouths closed while eating etc etc. But as they get older and into the pre-school bracket, I would expect more sophisticated habbits, and definitely once they are 5-6 I'd expect them to at least try to use a knife AND fork, eat with mouth closed, not talk with mouth full, and all the other stuff I try to instill in my own young daughter.

I say all that, but I used baby led weaning with my daughter who is now 18 months old, and she can use a fork well and isn't too bad at the table. She does stuff her mouth full and she does eat with her mouth open, but she will learn to eat with it closed once her cognition develops.

The mindees I have at the moment are not that bad actually. The 4 (nearly 5) year old even has a 'handkerchief' and blows his nose very politely! He says 'excuse me' and 'pardon'; he excuses himself from the table, eats properly. His manners do slip in other areas but for a 4 year old he is pretty impeccable really.

[Narnia34]

I cannot stand people chewing with theirs mouths open, actually makes me feel physically sick. Watching some people eat is like watching cows chewing the cud!

Surely the sound of a child chewing away must drive parents mad as well?

[Nature'sKids!]

we couldnt eat at the table until about 6 months ago, when we ripped two cabinets out the kitchen to make place for a table! its small, seats 5 max but OMG its so much nicer and ds has learned so much too! yes, he still stands up on the bench and reaches all the way over to the other side of the table, yes he still cant use a knife and fork properly together but its so much nicer! i dont even mind the manners as much, just being able to sit together and connect is lovely!

[miffy]

I don't think parents eat with their children that often these days.

I don't think they do - most of the children I look after have lunch and tea here (they'd probably have breakfast too if I agreed to give it).

I don't think as much importance is placed on having good table manners as it used to be either.

Miffy xx