Family Mealtime and Manners

Rowan County 61.4% of both parents of children under the age of 18, have one or more jobs outside the home.Rowan County also has 6.8% of their dads that stay home and 25.3% of their moms stay home while the other works and/or are unemployed.  In today society, both parents are in the need to work to support their families.  Family mealtime where everyone sets down at the dinner table and have their meal and a family conversation of “How was your Day”, has become a thing of the pass, along with children are missing manners being taught at home and at school.  This is a learned behavior that is being missed due to everyone’s busy schedule.  Children today are also consumed with technology and hand held computers to entertain themselves.    The second grade teachers at  Clearfield Elementary, Community Education leader and  Youth Service Center Director contacted the Rowan County Family and Consumer Science Agent to come into the class room and cover, importance of family mealtime, nutritional needs of a 8-9 year old, lessons of the behavior that is expected in the classroom, public and at home where also taught. The FCS agent started with teaching nutritional needs and portion control. Followed by manners at meal, in the classroom, in public and at home. Good manners form the basis for good human relationships wherever you are---at home, at work, at the grocery store, in church, in an airport or on the golf course.  Having good manners allows us to change with the times because the basis for manners is a genuine concern for others.

This was a six lesson sessions, the students responded with 85 % being successful in practice of behavior and following directions at school during their lessons.  All three teachers, aide and community educator attended and recorded actions and behavior of the classes and the student’s time at school. Upon the end of the six-session class, the students received an invitation to attend lunch and movie at the movies and Fazoil’s.

On lunch and movie day, students practice allowing girls to enter room first, holding doors for others, standing in a line without touching others, using their table manners, washing their hands, using inside voices, waiting to eat till everyone received their food, raising their hands when having questions, have mealtime conversation, and watching the movie without talking.  Place setting was practiced; adult volunteers from our community served and removed plates. (Community relationships with Rowan County Board of Education, Community Education and Rowan County Extension Service>)

For one month after the lunch and movie their teachers observed students and a follow up survey was done with the students. Here are the findings:

This class will have a long term effect on all students and their families:

100% improvement of class behavior of at least 85% of the class.

50% improvement of class behavior of at least 13% of the class.

No improvement of class behavior of at least 2% of the class.