Evening star., 1921-02-11
Health and Thrift in the Home
Your Child at Table.

The child who never eats meals with
his elders has little chance of acquir-
ing good table manners. and since
many we'll bred folk estimate the
by their table manners it isn't quite
fair to child in your home not to
give hlm the opportunity to acquire
the rather difficult knack of manag-
ing KNIFE. fork. spoon and napkin
with correctness and ease
We think that the Chinaman shows
wonderful dexterity in eating rice
with chop sticks. but that is because
we have not been trained in the
manipulation of that particular i'm
plement or eating. To manage knife.
fork and spoon-orientals tell us
seems just as hard to those who are
not familiar with them So a child
shouldn't be expected to learn table
behavior by instinct or magic.
Among well-to-do families in Eng
country. it is possible for young chill
dren not to eat with their parents
and still to be versed in good table
manners But in such cases there are
well-bred nursery governess whose
manners set as good examples as
would those of the children's parents.
If you cannot afford to employ a gov
erness with manners as good as or
better than your own let your child
come to the table. He will learn by
your good example.
However, for the health of your
child, your own peace of mind and
the comfort of possible guests. it is
better not to permit children under
five or six to take the evening meal
with their elders-whcthcr that eve
ni'c meal be supper or dinner.
have gone good ways since the
days of George Washington wher:
children stood at ta'.. and actually
were seen and not he>.l but the rule
still prevails that small childrens
tongues should not be allowed to wag
1T 's meal time In the first place it is
d flcult to carry on a conversat ion
and eat at the same time. and when
child attempts both he generally
compromises by showing very bad
manners.
What is the fashionable and correct
time to dine? Is it considered countri-
ned to have dinner in the middle of
the day?
Surely the fashionable time for din
ing is not always the correct time. 1t
would only be correct for those who
belonged to what is known as fash
lonable society or for those to whom
II was most convenient, the so-call.d
fashionable dinner hour nowadays is
$ o'clock That is also the hour for
formal dinners at the White House as
well as the hour usual in the Euro
pean embassies in Washington. Not
manly SCdIS deO U CLOCK was cOnSld-
ered a late dinner hour. Dut within
recent years it has been pushed on
to s.
For most persons. however, that
would be very inconvenient time
Ihere are whole communities-not-
ably in certain college towns-where
every one finds it most convenient to
nave a noon dirner and o'clock
supper or tea This is not fashionable,
b1t fcr person INC wing into that
E"1gnborhooc it would obviously he
b. inconvenient
True agricultural foil usually TN.
a noon dinner n,'s' convenient. but
mat GOES not m "A Tat the noon din
ner is cGuntrifai. and il it we're ccun-
triiied 1t need i.tt lie in bad form.
MARY times country manners are
rather better than city manners. Re-
member, 200 years ago the Fashionable
dining time was O'clock in the afr
ernoon. 1t is all matter of con
Venlence and ever changing. custom