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Dining Double
Taking Twins out to Eat By Kelly Burgess
In other words, when they're toddlers, take them to kid-friendly places and let them act like kids, within reason. As they get older, they begin to understand that certain behaviors are acceptable and others are not. Dr. Medhus says that between ages 5 and 10 kids should be expected to transfer what they've learned and witnessed to other settings and scenarios.
"For example, when you've taught them to say 'thank you' to Uncle Frank for the birthday card, they should be able to show appreciation to the kindness of others, too," Dr. Medhus says. "Table manners, remembering to say 'please' and 'thank you' and other rudimentary manners should be pretty well developed by the end of this period. At this age, they're still going to be wiggly and enthusiastic, but again, as long as their behavior is not bothering others or posing a threat to the safety of themselves or others, they should be able to 'let it all hang out.' From 11 on, kids have the abstract reasoning skills and verbal skills they need to sit quietly in a restaurant or movie, answer the telephone civilly, greet adults with respect and courtesy and so on."
She suggests asking questions such as: What's the family rule about slurping soup? Why do we have that rule? What do you need to do now?