What has happened to table manners? Perhaps with so few people eating at a table at home they are no longer being taught.
I know the old days of using the correct knife, fork or spoon to eat with is probably out of date but the simplest courtesies of not leaving the table until everyone has finished or even not starting to eat until everyone is served or the host has indicated that you start, seem to have disappeared.
I recently went to a large family gathering where several generations sat at a large table in a restaurant to celebrate a birthday. While it was lovely to see everyone together it really showed up the lack of any formal practice of communal dining.
As a child we were taught how to hold our cutlery correctly, mainly to make it easier to use. Nowadays a fork is often the only utensil used and is wielded in the right hand with a knife only used to cut the food intermittently. This method was previously only seen by Americans on television or films.
The heinous crime of talking with your mouth full or eating with your mouth open is now seemingly acceptable: not at my table. Reaching across another dinner for the condiments without an excuse me is also standard practice. Most table manners are common courtesy but in these days of eating out of paper while walking down the street makes a nonsense of dinning etiquette.
I understand that one third of the world eats with their fingers, one third with chopsticks and the remainder with knives and forks but shouldn’t those of us who chose cutlery know how to use it properly. There are some very strict rules in chopstick usage and I know that if you use your fingers in other cultures they should only be from one particular hand. In some societies eating in the company of others is seen as a privilege and it is important to follow polite behaviour.
Table manners are not an outmoded set of rules but are there to ensure everyone respects the others comfort and space. I do not want to be sprayed with food from an open mouth nor do I want to see what is being masticated by another. Reaching across someone is rude and splashing soup or sauce messy. Leaving the table while others are eating is unsettling and the practice of not sitting on the chair properly asking for spillage. Most good table manner have their basis in sensible behaviour and respect for others.
I have often noticed that people brought up in large families eat their meal very quickly and the worst culprits are ex public school children. However nowadays it is less likely that your dining neighbour is going to steal off your plate.
So why are we not teaching our children good table manners?
