Skill Building: Dip Rules!

The kids and I needed a fast lunch the other day, and I decided to cut up fresh veggies and fruit and have them be able to dip their food as they ate.  Dip can be great fun or a total embarrassment in a formal situation.
What a great opportunity to teach you kids etiquette, in a controlled setting, before they have to deal with a situation that is more public and it gets out of control.
These are the rules that I taught my children as they ate, mindfully.

1. No double dipping, if a plate is accessible then take some dip with a spoon and place a dollop on your plate.
   
2. No knuckle dipping, it isn’t polite to touch the dip with your fingers or hand at any time.
   
3. No dripping with dipping, be polite and do not load your food up with so much dip that it will drip in excess.
   
4. Chips are often tricky, if there is a situation that involves them always try to use the dollop method.  If a chip breaks in a bowl of dip it can become gross for everyone afterwards.
   
5. No horizontal or drop dipping, laying a carrot, or celery stick into the dip so one whole side is covered is inappropriate, and messy.  Its not nice to be messy when you are using a community dip.

Preparing your children for social situations and teaching them be polite and tactful is your job.  If there is a time of embarrassment when you didn’t have your children prepared, then teach them the way you feel is correct during that situation.  If your children do not not know how to deal with the situation, a hand over hand form of instruction is sometimes necessary.  And it shows great etiquette with you to be teaching your children instead of reprimanding them or completely ignoring their behavior and avoiding it altogether.