What's wrong with using a fork?

[AndyRM]

I am a firm believer that good manners are best taught at an early age.

As am I. 10 strikes me as a pretty early age.

 

[Oldhippy]

With a Spork you have both utensils in one item.

 

[gbb]

Smart a**e .

Sorry but in this day and age, if the worst thing he does is eat his food with his hands I find it hard to get annoyed. Too many people get too uptight and angry and offended at just about anything. I had a son who would hardly eat at all, so I would have been grateful if he had used his fingers just as long as he ate it.

You eat fish and chips from the chip shop with your fingers, you eat chicken and chips with your fingers. In lots of countries they eat their food with fingers.

Agree with some, disagree with other points.
It's ( for me at least ) not about getting uptight, offended or angry, its about teaching a child table manners, as generally expected here.
If you take it to an extreme, do you not teach a child to talk with its mouth full ? Or belch loudly at the table, or munch with their mouth open ? They're norms (or accepted, tolerated, whatever ) but not what you'd do out in company.
Its (for me) about teaching children in a calm way, reasonably accepted norms, a decent way of behaving, particularly at the table.

Time and a place in short. McDonald's, fish and chips, agree, fingers every time ?..but at our dinner table on a Sunday, we at least try to teach standards. Problem is getting them to sink in

 

[AndyRM]

Agree with some, disagree with other points.
It's ( for me at least ) not about getting uptight, offended or angry, its about teaching a child table manners, as generally expected here.
If you take it to an extreme, do you not teach a child to talk with its mouth full ? Or belch loudly at the table, or munch with their mouth open ? They're norms (or accepted, tolerated, whatever ) but not what you'd do out in company.
Its (for me) about teaching children in a calm way, reasonably accepted norms, a decent way of behaving, particularly at the table.

Time and a place in short. McDonald's, fish and chips, agree, fingers every time ?..but at our dinner table on a Sunday, we at least try to teach standards. Problem is getting them to sink in

Pretty much my take on it. It's tricky with kids, because they see burping, farting, showing off their chewing techniques as funny. It's how you react as an adult/parent.

 

[mistyoptic]

And right-handed ones are adroit.

or dexterous

 

[roley poley]

The best meal i have ever eaten was reconstituted dried food behind a shelter boulder in a storm in the lakes in winter..mug on a gaz stove in a bivvy bag straight out of the mug.. nowt but a tea spoon to help me ..call me a savage but it would beat any stared Michelin dinner..context is all

 

[steveindenmark]

There is nothing wrong in using a fork.

Its having no control of your children that is the problem.

 

[AndyRM]

Out of solidarity with all you sinister types, I ate my tea (pasta and meatballs) holding my fork in my left hand. I dunno what you're all moaning about, it was dead easy.

And look, even these fellas are using their left hands:

 

[Reynard]

Another lefty here.

Though I use scissors in my right hand (left-handed scissors are evil), bat right-handed when (very occasionally) playing cricket and use a standard fountain pen in my left hand. Left-handed nibs on fountain pens are even more evil than left-handed scissors.

As for the posh dinner cutlery, it's easy. You work from the outside in. The weird flat knife is for a fish course, dessert cutlery is at the top of the plate, and the small knife on your side plate (to your left) is for the butter. Likewise, your wine glasses, you work from right to left if different wines are served with different courses.

 

[Poacher]

And right-handed ones are adroit.

or dexterous

rather than gauche?

 

[Ian H]

rather than gauche?

Or simply and more brutally, cack-handed.