Teaching your toddler how to use a napkin properly

Help your toddler by playing silly with the napkin. Put it on his head, the table, the floor and have fun asking “is that where the napkin goes? If you need to say “no” because your toddler doesn’t quite grasp it yet, that’s fine.

When your toddler has a good grasp on the game, play it with them at the table during snack time. They will love it!

After you sit down, wait for everyone else to sit down then pick up your napkin and place it on your lap. You can find your napkin either to the left of the forks, under the forks, or on the plate. In a restaurant, the napkin may be folded in a fancy way and placed on the plate or in a glass.

You don’t have to open really big napkins all the way, they are the right size when they are folded in half. Smaller napkins like you might use at lunch or tea time can be opened all the way. Don’t tuck your napkin into your shirt like a bib, this isn’t considered polite. And when you open your napkin, do it gently so it isn’t waving around like a flag. To use your napkin, gently dab it around your mouth.

If you need to be excused from the table, put your napkin in your chair, not on the table and you do not have to fold it. Don’t blow your nose in your napkin, either!

 This is part of the iHomeschool Networks Autumn Hopscotch. Visit our other Toddler Manners Posts here.