Be it breakfast, lunch or dinner or maybe just tea time, good meal time habits are always essential because not only do they reflect you as a person, but it is a good time for everyone to bond and build relationships. But with every family and every meal, there are a set of things that nearly every family might do wrong and these set of tips just promote good habits that we must all inculcate the next time we have a meal with our families or friends just for the betterment of ourselves as individuals.

    1.Always eat together as a family.

    Many families with young children, older persons or teenagers will know that a lot of times, meals have to be brought to the person's room but try not to encourage this and have at least one meal that the entire family eats together. Preferably make this dinner because if it is breakfast, family members might be hurrying up to get to school or work and lunch might be spent at the school or work place so try going for a family dinner together. Encouraging a good family dinner means that the family learns to bond together and members who like to be in isolation most of the time are pulled into the family too.

    2.Promote good dinner time chat.

    It is no use getting your entire family to sit around the dinner table if it feels awkward because no one is talking. Teenagers and children might even turn against you because of this. Try to talk to everyone asking what they've been up to the whole day, whether or not they like the food, what they could change in it and just keep the conversation flowing.

    3.Never watch TV whilst eating meals.

    That is probably one of the worst things you can do because sometimes, you are just so engrossed watching the telly that you don't know what you are eating. I know it sounds strange but part of good meal time habits is that you concentrate on your food and appreciate what you are eating. Also, the telly will prevent good meal time chat and you are only going to bond with the TV rather than with the rest of the family.

    4.Get the family cooking.

    This will definitely work with children but try to get even the older members of your family cooking together rather than dumping it all on to one person. Someone can chop the vegetables while someone else does the meat so divide the work among the members of the family so they all feel involved.

    5.Wash your hands before every meal.

    My parents who are doctors always ask me to wash my hands before every meal even if I am going to eat with a knife and a fork. I never really understood why I should do this but when they gave me a valid answer, they did have a point. Children and teenagers and sometimes even adults will touch their food if they have to sometimes. They may touch the rim of their plates and this means that you are depositing all of the bacteria from your hands on to the plate. When you eat off the plate, all of those bacteria go into your stomach. If you are eating something like a sandwich or a burger and sometimes, some people like eating pizzas with their hands, this is directly feeding yourself bacteria so wash your hands even though you might use a knife and a fork.

    6.Light the room well.

    If the dining room looks very upbeat, the meal immediately looks interesting and your family members will reflect the mood of the lighting too. If the place looks very dull, everyone might be running a bit low on their energy so it is best if you put some nice lighting and some VERY low music in the background just so that you have a pleasant eating experience.

    7.Taste everything even if you don't like it.

    Children and teenagers might reject a new food if you present it to them and I know that some adults might be sceptical about eating certain foods but give them a tip. Ask them to try just a tiny spoonful and if they like it, they can have more. If they don't, then leave them to finish the rest of their meal. A lot of the times people have preconceived ideas that they don't like a particular kind of food but if they try a bit, there is a possibility they might love it. If you cook the dish again and your child rejects it, ask them to try it again. Constant feeding in really tiny spoonfuls may lead to the child or person getting used to it and thinking that it isn't that bad after all.

    8.Good manners while leaving the table don't hurt.

    If someone has to leave the table immediately because they have to do some important work or attend a call, have them say "Excuse me" and say what that important thing they had to do is. This way, the person is learning manners that are useful if he or she is at a formal dinner place and most of all, good manners just don't hurt! This way you know where the person is going and you are assured that they aren't indirectly saying they don't want to eat with the rest of the family.

    9.Be decent at the table.

    My parents always told me that eat at home like you would eat outside. Never do silly things like burp or pour gravy on your fingers or something silly. Don't play around with food or make faces in your potato mash. Even laughing loudly isn't very polite especially if you are outside. Teaching this to children and using it yourself means that you are encouraging good manners and that you learn to eat outside the same way. Doing silly things at home are excusable but doing them outside where there are other people isn't really that laudable. So try eating at home as decently as you can. Children will want to muck about but tell them straight off that it isn't very polite. Tell them that they wouldn't want to have someone burping at them or laughing at them.

    10.Teach children to eat well.

    Teenagers and children can be quite fussy when it comes to eating food. Refer this article that teaches how to get your children to eat healthily. If you use the tips I've provided in that article, you will notice a significant change in the eating habits of your children.

    Just little things like the ones I've listed above will not only teach you and your children how to have a good ettiquette when you go outside but also it is helping your family bond indirectly through a meal. This really is food for thought!

    无论是在吃早点，中餐、晚饭还是喝茶时人们都应保持有良好的用餐习惯，好的习惯不仅能反映出一个人的形象问题，而且它还是一个建立和加强人际关系的良好时机，因此用餐时养成好的习惯非常重要。但是几乎所有的家庭在用餐时，都不同程度上会犯些错误。而这些教你养成好习惯的贴士下次我们在与家人或者朋友一起用餐时务必遵循。

    1.一家人应时常聚在一起吃饭。

    家有小孩，老人与青少年的家庭都知道，很多时候，他们会把饭带到自己的房间里去吃，但尽量不要提倡这种做法，每天至少应有一餐整个家庭成员聚在一起吃。或许晚餐是个最好的选择，如果选择早餐一起吃，家庭成员中可能有人要敢赶时间去学校或上班，而中餐大部分时间则在学校或工地度过，因此尽量在晚餐时大家聚在一起。一个气氛令人鼓舞的家庭晚宴能使家人的心紧密联系在一起，而且对家庭成员中那些内心孤僻的人来说很多时候他们也会感到家的温馨因而融入其中。

    2.营造良好用餐谈话氛围。

    一家人围坐在餐桌前如果因为觉得尴尬而彼此不说话就没有意义。孩子们也可能会对你的这种安排产生憎恨的情绪。尽量跟家庭成员的每一个人说说话，了解下他们今天做了些什么事情，是否对你做的饭菜感到满意，他们能否对你做的饭菜再进行些调味等使整个谈话继续下去。

    3.吃饭勿看电视。

    吃饭看电视可能是你最易犯的不良习惯之一，有时候当你全神贯注看电视时会忘记自己吃的是什么。我知道这听起来有点怪，但良好的用餐习惯之一就是专心吃饭与品位你正在食用的食物。此外，看电视会影响用餐谈话氛围，会使你只顾着电视里的情节进展而忽略与家人的沟通。

    4.让家庭成员参与烹饪。

    做饭时最好与孩子们一起忙活，同时也尽可能让家庭成员里的长辈参与其中而不要一味的将任务推给某一个人。他们中有人可能会切菜，而另一些人中有的会做肉制佳肴，这样就可以将工作在家庭成员中得以分配，他们也会有种参与的感觉。

    5.饭前应洗手。

    我的父母是医生，他们总要求我每顿饭前洗手，即使是用刀叉时也会这么要求。他们说的非常有道理。但在他们给我确切的解释前我一直不大理解为什么我应该这样做。儿童和青少年，有时甚至成年人在必要时也会用手去接触食品。他们可能会用去手接触盘子的边缘，而这就意味着将手中的细菌带到了盘子里。当你吃掉了盘子里的食物时，这些细菌就会进入你的肚子。如果你喜欢用手拿着吃三明治或汉堡包，当然有些人喜欢吃用手拿着的比萨饼，这样就等同于自己在直接饮用细菌，因此，即便是你用刀叉吃饭请洗洗手。

    6.使房间灯光明亮。

    如果餐厅的光线非常的有雅致，吃饭时就会立马觉得带劲而家人的心情也会通过光线作用变得明朗起来。如果房子里的灯光过于暗淡，大家的食欲可能会有所低落因此最好将光线调好同时放点轻音乐做背景，这样的话会让你吃饭时有一个愉快心情。

    7.即便是你不喜欢的食物也应试着去品尝。

    儿童和青少年可能不爱吃一些新的食物，如果你将它摆在他们面前，他们会予以拒绝。而且据我所知一些成年人也对某些食物情有独钟，不妨给他们点建议。可以叫他们先尝试一小口看，如果喜欢的话，他们就会多吃点。如果不喜欢，就让他们把自己剩余的饭菜吃完。很多时候，由于成见人们不喜欢吃某种特定的食物，但如果他们愿意先尝试一点，很可能会变得爱吃它了。如果你第二次做它的时候孩子们还是不吃，不妨请他们再尝试尝试。这样每次吃一点点，孩子们及他人就会习惯吃了并会发现原来它并不难吃。

    8.离开餐桌时不忘表现得体。

    如果有人因一些重要的事情要急于处理或接听电话需要立即离开餐桌时，他们是否会说声"对不起",并解释是什么重要的事情他们得去做？这样的话，对正在学习礼仪的人来说，会使他或她日后出席正式的晚宴场合时会觉得非常受用，而且最重要的是，良好的举止行为并无大碍！这样，他们的离开你就会知道他将往何处并坚信他们不是不愿与家人一起共餐了。

    9.餐桌前应端庄。

    我的父母常跟我说，在家吃饭时什么样子在外面吃也会一样。吃饭时不要做些像打嗝或将肉汁倒在手指上与其他一些滑稽的事情。不要糟蹋食物与将土豆泥涂在自己的脸上。连放声大笑甚至也会被认为是不礼貌的行为，特别是在外面吃的时候更是这样。倡导文明的举止行为应是在教导孩子们礼仪的同时将这些礼仪运用于自己身上，这样在外面吃时你会和在家里表现出同样的举止。如果说在家里做些滑稽的行为可以得到原谅，但在外面这样做的话他人就会觉得并不值得称赞了。因此，在家里吃饭时尽量举止端庄。孩子们可能会胡闹但要直截了当的告诉他们那是不礼貌的行为。告诉他们，在吃饭时人们一般不喜欢有人向他们打嗝和大笑。

    10.教导孩子吃好。

    青少年和儿童在吃东西时可能特别挑剔。请参考这篇教导《如何让孩子吃得健康》的文章。如果您运用了我在那篇文章里提到的一些贴士，你会发现孩子的饮食习惯有了重大的改变。

    我上面列举的一些细节不仅可以让你与你的孩子在外面时怎样去保持良好的举止行为，而且它还可以帮助你通过聚餐间接性地搞好家庭关系。这着实耐人寻味！