Table manners form an integral part of learning for a toddler and a child. A lot is judged at the the dining table and if you do not start early in teaching table manners, your child may get teased and heckled at by his/her friends when he/she gets of age. It is definitely better to start early in this regard. Once these manners are learn’t, they stay with the child for life. We present below a list of five books that would help you teach your youngster table manners:
1. How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
Jane Yolen has authored the book that has been titled, “How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food”. The dinos are animals that children always love and pay attention to. The book begins with nasty dino burps and farts accompanied by throwing up food and spitting. And when the kids have a look at these images, they are sure to look disapprovingly at the dinosaurs. The story of the transformation of the dinosaurs into well-behaved, polite and well-mannered, gentle giants could become the story of transformation of your kids too as far as table manners are concerned. The book is sure to arouse laughter and make learning fun. The best part is that the children are made to learn the table manners on their own after getting a taste of the disastrous results that arise from the lack of them.
2. You’ve Got Manners
Another children’s book for learning table manners is, “You’ve Got Manners”. The approach of Louise Elerding here is a bit different. The protagonists here are Milton Manners and Polly Politely. They take the children through the alphabet, explaining in detail what each letter of the alphabet has to convey. The message of the alphabet comes as three useful tips. Have you ever wondered as to what is the best way to do away with an olive pip? Or how to pass the food without any spillage? Some of the tips in the book could do good even to the adults! Choosing utensils, passing the food, not eating from the serving dish and giving consideration to the others who are at the table are some of the few good things that the children learn from the book.
3. Good Table Manners for Little Monkeys
Where children are concerned, there is always some monkey business going on at the dining table. And this includes the chatter that goes on as well as the swinging spoons and cutlery! This book promises to tame the little monkeys and teach them how to pray before food, eat decently and also clear their own dishes. The best part of the illustrations given in the book is that both the right and wrong ways to do something are shown. This helps in avoiding the wrong ways and adopting the right ones. And the motivation of not being called a little monkey is high enough for the children to adopt the teachings of the book. In a very absorbing manner, the correct way to wash hands, place napkins and chew food with the mouth closed are all well depicted in the book.
4. A Smart Girl’s Guide to Manners
A manual on table manners entitled, “A Smart Girl’s Guide to Manners” has been targeted specifically at the modern day girls. This gives in a nutshell all the traditional table manners. Along with them, it also attempts to define good manners and etiquette about handling cell phones, being good hosts, being good guests and many of the other situations that are specific to the teens and tweens of today. Anime style characters have been used to reinforce the message and a very simple yet witty style of writing has been incorporated. There are quizzes that pop up here and there in the book and they are sure to make it a real fun manual for kids of all ages.
5. Mind Your Manners
Diane Goode has written this masterpiece of a hilarious book on table manners for children. This book is all about what one must not do at the table that is written in a story form. The Abbots decide to have a dinner and they proceed to break every rule that has been written for good table etiquette. It will especially appeal the the little children as they see the text stating what is to be done and the illustrations show the Abbots doing exactly the opposite. The story has been purposefully set in the 19th century to make it more funny.
