In addition to coaxing our kids to eat their vegetables, it seems my husband and I are forever correcting our kids at the dinner table. "Sit up straight." "Don't play with your food." "Chew with your mouth closed." The coaching never ends. We keep at it because we want our boys to be polished when eating in public or dining at friends' houses. It's a tough job, though, as it should be.

For us, table manners are automatic -- as simple as chewing and swallowing, say the editors at Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. For a child, learning to behave at mealtime is big stuff. It takes a whole new set of skills to master manners. And it's our job to teach those skills, no matter how hard the job. Here are a few tactics we all might employ during our respective mealtime madness moments.

• Role play table manners during a tea party or while playing "restaurant." You'll have fun, while practicing and teaching lessons all at the same time.
  
  

• Keep rules simple and positive so your kids can remember them. "We sit." "We eat with our forks."
  
  
• Reinforce rules during mealtime. Hand your child a fork and napkin, and remind him to use them.
  
  
• Set a good example. Role model the manners you want to see your child display. Eventually, he will follow in your footsteps.
  
  
• Get silly. Practice bad manners and ask your child to identify what you're doing wrong.

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