Six Tips for Proper Manners

“Being set at the table, scratch not thyself, and take thou heed as much as thou canst not to spit, cough and blow at thy nose; but if it be needful, do it dexterously, without much noise, turning thy face sidelong.” Youth's Behaviour (1663)

Are you trying to impress that special someone? Good manners open doors that are closed to brawn, beauty, and brains. Are your table manners becoming of a Christian teenager? A Christian teenager should know how to appropriately function at a dinner event. Few things will impress your date more than sitting with a true gentleman or lady who knows how to be appropriate at meal time. Disregarding proper table manners will most likely ensure you will be refused a second date with a teen who has manners that are “ten times better.”

The following rules of dinner etiquette were copied by George Washington as a mere lad. He endeavored to live by the rules and was considered a man of refinement and character. Although the wording may seem odd or outdated, good manners are never out of style.

1. Put not another bite into your mouth til the former be swallowed. Let not your morsels be too big for the jowls. Drink not with your mouth full of food, neither gaze about you while you are drinking. Do not open the mouth while chewing, but keep the lips closed. Few things are more disgusting than to watch someone chew with their mouth opened. A teenager with class and refinement will conquer this bad habit. Likewise, belching at a dinner table is not appropriate.

2. Speak not of doleful things at the table; speak not of melancholy things as death and wounds. Before the day of the banquet arrives, carefully choose topics of conversation that are in accordance with Philippians 4:8. If you have thoroughly planned the topics, you will not have to fear dead space in the conversation. Don't be misled into thinking that having girls squirm and shriek as you discuss grotesque topics is a sign that they are having a good time. Girls are distrustful of boys who are not gentlemen.

3. Ladies: Play not the peacock, looking everywhere about you, to see if you be well decked. In other words, keep your mirrors out of sight at the dinner table. Don't keep checking your makeup or applying lipstick during your dinner date. One who does this is consumed with herself instead of focused on her date and those in her presence.

4. Gentlemen: If any one comes to speak to you while you are sitting, stand up . . . If the youth director or any other adult comes to your table, stand, shake his hand and look him in the eyes when you greet him or respond to his statements. Shyness is no excuse for a lack of manners. Also, it is mannerly to stand when any lady arrives to be seated or when a lady leaves the table. A true gentlemen will pull the chair out for a lady and help her be seated.

5. When another speaks, be attentive yourself and disturb not the audience. During a program, be absorbed in the events planned for you. Hours of preparation have been invested into making your banquet a success. An unmannerly teenager would make comments that would take the attention off the platform and onto himself. Misbehaving with those at your table or being disinterested in the evening speaker is a rude behavior that comes from an ungrateful heart.

6. Make no show of taking great delight in your victuals. Feed not with greediness. Lean not on the table, neither find fault with what you eat. To criticize a meal that has been especially prepared for you shows a horrible lack of consideration and a serious breach against common hospitality. Instead, why not take your manners to the next level? Before the evening ends, be sure to thank each of the cooks, the servers, those providing special music, and the leaders who planned the event. In the days that follow the event, be sure to follow with a note of gratitude.