Ladies' Room

Teach your kids 'Petite Etiquette'

Parents are being left red faced by their children’s table manners, according to new research by The Kensington Hotel.

Nearly half of UK mums and dads admit to being embarrassed by their youngsters when dining out. One in five have left a restaurant mid-way through a meal because of their kids behaving badly.

In a poll of 2,000 parents with children aged five to ten, worrying about how their tots will behave in restaurants is the biggest cause for stress for nearly a third of parents (28%).

When it comes to what parents consider the most important table manners for youngsters, saying “please” and “thank you” tops the list (40%), followed by eating with their mouth shut (36%) and sitting still (17%).

In order to help parents teach their little ones some table manners, The Kensington Hotel has teamed up with etiquette and manners expert Jean Broke-Smith to run a series of classes for youngsters and to create a guide on 'Petite Etiquette' with some easy-to-learn tips.