I was reading the newspaper the other day and one of the questions in this advice column was about teaching your children how to behave in a restaurant.  The woman wanted to know whether she could bring her portable DVD player into a restaurant to let her child watch while the rest of the family finished eating.

 Afterwards, in the discussion section, there was the hottestcutest debate about whether the answer the columnist gave was correct or not.  Some people said that it's better to give your child a DVD to watch than to have them running around in the restaurants annoying the other people who were trying to eat.  Other people claimed that if your kids can't sit still for an hour while you're out at a restaurant, you shouldn't be taking them to restaurants.  All of the answer seems to revolve around what is the best way to teach your children manners when it comes to eating.

 I remember my parents would always threaten to send me to learn manners at etiquette school if I couldn't eat properly.  In fact, every once in a while when my mother noticed that my manners had declined, she would get out the Lenox castle garden china and try to teach me how to eat properly. 

 I would hate these lessons, but looking back, I really did learn a lot, and it was pretty helpful for my table manners.  I know that when I go into a restaurant for business, I'll be able to conduct myself in a polite manner.  I know what fork to use, and when to use it.  This may not sound like much, but it has definitely helped.  So what's the best way to teach manners to children?  I don't know myself, except that insisting on good behavior, and teaching your children how to eat properly worked for me.