UPDATE: We’ll take comments until midnight EST!
I asked my duo to take a look at a new manners book for kids, Soup Should Be Seen Not Heard!, that arrived at work not too long ago
My daughter looked through it and found key passages (“be neat and clean,” “never say or do anything gross at the table”), then read them while glancing meaningfully at her brother.
It was amusing — but I’m not sure it actually counted as good manners. And when I asked her what she thought of the book, her response was that it was ”mostly” for him.
My son found some suggestions over the top and outdated, like a note about using the word “master” in a letter to boys older than 8. Because, really?
He also couldn’t imagine why anyone would tell kids what to do with a finger bowl.
Well, I said, what if you’re invited to a fancy party one day?
Yeah, my daughter said, what if someone invites you to a ball? Then, she and I agreed, it might be good to know to “gently dip your fingertips, one hand at a time, into the bowl” and “Dry them on your napkin.”
But really, the book does have plenty of useful reminders — for good manners at the dinner table, birthday parties, when Mom is talking on the phone and more.
So if you’d like a copy — to prod kiddos toward better behavior or just for laughs — leave a comment below (short is fine!). We’ll pick a winner randomly from among everyone who replies.
