So many people forget the common courtesy of waiting until everyone at the table has a meal before beginning to eat. There is nothing ruder than beginning to eat when others at the table don’t have food in front of them yet. If you’re eating with a large number of people it may not make sense to wait until the 100th person has been served. However, courtesy would demand that when sitting down to eat with a small family, you wait until everyone has been seated and served before digging in. Another common occurrence in the average American family these days is the child who wolfs down his meal and then runs off to play a video game or hang out with friends rather than taking advantage of this quality time with his family.
Luckily, you aren’t likely to have to wait long in a restaurant for everyone in your party to be served. Timing of a meal is not generally an issue in a restaurant as servers and cooks work very carefully to ensure that everyone at a table is served at the same time. At home, however, there is more often than not somebody that is still serving the meal while everyone else has begun eating or even finished and left! Some thanks it is to prepare and serve a meal only to find that there isn’t anything left to eat by the time you finally sit down at the table! Of course, if the hostess or the person serving the meal insists that you begin without them then you should do so. If not, take your cue from the host/hostess and begin eating when they do. Children will follow the cues given to them by the adults present. If they don’t, they should be gently reminded to do so.