MM Teaching manners
If your mealtimes with your child are turning into ‘fork and spoon wars’, try our tips for retraining…
Little Missed Manners!
It can be lovely watching your little one use her fork or spoon by herself for the first time. Yes, she’ll often get it wrong and you’ll be picking rusk or yogurt out of her hair for a while, but that’s just part of the learning process, isn’t it? But what happens when your child is
getting older and she’s still sporting her ‘yogurt and banana’ hairdo? When – and how - do you begin to teach her to ‘eat nicely please?’
Eating together Recent statistics repeatedly show that it’s becoming less and less common for families to gather around the table and eat together. The benefits of doing this are varied, but one of the main advantages of eating together is that your child will get used to this routine and will come to realise that it’s ‘eating time’. If she’s still in a high chair, position it so that she has her own 'spot' at the table; this will help make her feel included and involved. If she finishes eating first, make sure you’ve a drink, small pieces of fruit or even crayons and paper to keep her occupied until you’re finished your meal.
Attention! One of the best ways of keeping your child focussed during mealtimes is by chatting
14 Modernmum
to her. This means that she’ll be so taken up with eating AND chatting that she’ll forget to misbehave with her food. Get her to tell her daddy what she’s been doing during the day.
Forego finger food! As soon as your child is able to hold a cup, you can teach her to use her cutlery. To date, you’ve probably been feeding her, or she’s been using her fingers to stuff the food into her mouth, so this can be a bit of a challenge. The good news is though that she’ll probably want to copy you and your partner, so help her through this process by buying special baby cutlery, which comes with chunky, easy-to-grip handles and is often colour coded. That way she’ll be able to learn to use the right one appropriately. Try to nip any food throwing, or playing with food, in the bud at an early stage as it can also start to influence other kids, who may be present.
Burping is bad! As you probably know, kids love to embarrass their mum and dad by releasing bodily functions such as burping or passing wind – usually at the most inappropriate times! Of course, we’re all human, and there are times when
you or your partner may be a bit windy and let out a burp. Always make sure that you immediately say ‘excuse me’ so that your child knows that it’s not really acceptable to do this. (You may at times, of course, have to remind her daddy of the same thing!)
Take away temptation Young children – especially toddlers – love to swipe food from other people’s plates. That butter dish will also look extremely tempting to stick little fingers into. So make sure the butter dish etc are out of your child’s reach. Always emphasise though that it’s not the ‘done thing’ to take food off someone else’s plate!
Teach through tea parties If your child loves to play house, then boost her tea-time teaching by joining her in a tea party with their friends – or with dolls. Show the dolls how to use their knives and forks, and how to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. Kids are like little sponges – they’ll learn what they live – so, by telling ‘dolly’ not to speak with her mouth full, your child will subconsciously pick up good eating habits! Bon appétit!
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