When did you last tell your children to put their hand over their mouth when they yawn? When did you last suggest that when they are introduced to someone they should shake hands firmly and look them in the eye? Do you suggest that they should wait until everyone is served before they eat rather than hoover up the best bit for themselves? Do you demand that your young daughter dress decorously lest she elicit outraged looks? Do you think that the children of today have disgraceful manners? Unlike, of course, when you were young ... Well, that's certainly what Erasmus of Rotterdam thought in 1530 when he published De Civilitate Morum Puerilium: A Handbook on Good Manners for Children. He felt that learning good manners was crucial to a child's upbringing, and that the uncouth and ill-disciplined behaviour around him demanded a new kind of book. After all, as William of Wykeham memorably said in the 1350s, 'Manners maketh man'. A Handbook on Good Manners for Children is considered to be the first treatise in Western Europe on the moral and practical education of children. It was a massive bestseller - indeed the biggest-selling book of the sixteenth century - going into 130 editions over 300 years and being translated into 22 languages within ten years of its publication. In it, Erasmus concerns himself with matters such as how to dress, how to behave at table, how to converse with one's elders and contemporaries, how to address the opposite sex and much else. For example: Table Manners 'It's just as rude to lick greasy fingers as it is to wipe them on your clothing, Use a cloth or napkin instead.' 'Some people, no sooner than they've sat down, immediately stick their hands into the dishes of food. This is the manner of wolves.' 'Making a raucous noise or shrieking intentionally when you sneeze, or showing off by carrying on sneezing on purpose, is very ill-mannered.' 'To fidget around in your seat, and to settle first on one buttock and then the next, gives the impression that you are repeatedly farting, or trying to fart.' The advice is as relevant today as it was 500 years ago.

Manners, fundamental social skills for success in life, are among the greatest gifts parents can give. From self-respect and respect for others to knowing how to behave in public, this comprehensive, practical guide helps parents instill age-appropriate manners as their child’s world expands from toddlerhood through the teen years. This is a must-have resource for every family.

Emily Post’s Table Manners for Kids isn’t just about manners for fancy parties or dinner at grandma's house. It’s got lots of practical information to use every day to improve family dinners. With fun illustrations, step by step instructions, and an upbeat, modern tone, this is the perfect book to share with the 8- to 12-year-old in your life (or with anyone striving to improve their table manners). Pretty much everything tweens need to know to get through any meal is here, from table settings to eating tricky food to holding up your end of a dinner conversation. The book includes easy to follow, helpful answers to such questions as: Which fork do I use? Is it okay to answer my cell phone during dinner? What's the polite way to eat spaghetti? "Excellent troubleshooting." (Kirkus) "This clearly written book offers practical advice that will help young people to feel more comfortable when dining with others and, of course, to avoid disgusting their companions.” (Booklist) As a five-star review commented: "The information was great and I loved the step by step details. The way it's written works well for youth and adults." Since 1922, the name Emily Post has been America’s most trusted source for good table manners. With Emily Post’s Table Manners for Kids, the third generation of Post authors, Peggy Post and Cindy Post Senning, Ed.D., offers children a comprehensive guide to good table manners in the 21st century.

Princess Marie-Chantal’s must-have parenting resource for the modern age, now fully revised and updated “Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, knows a thing or two about manners. (Queen Elizabeth II was a guest at her wedding.) But when it came to writing Manners Begin at Breakfast: Modern Etiquette for Families, she leaned on her experiences as a New Yorker, sister, daughter, mother of five, and founder of an incredibly charming children’s line, as much as her decades of navigating royal politesse.” –Goop The founder of a successful children’s clothing line, author of an influential parenting blog, and mother of five children, Marie-Chantal of Greece is constantly asked how she manages to do it all. So many of these queries—about proper etiquette for children in our fast-paced, technology-centered world—led her to recognize the need for a modern handbook on children’s manners. First published in 2020, Manners Begin at Breakfast addresses rules of etiquette, including table manners, social media, fashion dos and don’ts, and party conversation. Covering children from infants to teens, it is an essential guide for all parents keen to raise polite, well-rounded children, equipped to thrive in society and develop into confident, successful adults. This updated edition captivates and enlightens, adding new insights on parenting in a post-pandemic world. By popular demand, each chapter is now peppered with delightful anecdotes and personal stories from Marie-Chantal’s experience putting her own advice into practice. Adorned with charming, specially commissioned illustrations and a fresh, updated introduction by leading pediatrician Dr. Perri Klass, Manners Begin at Breakfast is the quintessential guide to propriety for the modern family.

A bestselling author in his time, Pierre Louÿs (1870-1925) was a friend of, and influence on, André Gide, Paul Valéry, Oscar Wilde and Stephane Mallarmé among others. He achieved instant notoriety with Aphrodite and The Songs of Bilitis, but it was only after his death that Louÿs' true legacy was to be discovered: nearly 900 pounds of erotic manuscripts were found in his home, all of them immediately scattered among collectors and many subsequently lost. Since then, it has become clear that Louÿs is the greatest French writer of erotica there ever was. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners was the first of his erotic manuscripts to see publication, and it also remains his most outrageous--an erotic classic in which humor takes precedence over arousal. By means of shockingly filthy advice--ostensibly offered "for use in educational establishments"--couched in a hilariously parodic admonitory tone, Louÿs turns late-nineteenth-century manners roundly on their head, with ass prominently skyward. Whether offering rules for etiquette in church, school or home, or outlining a girl's duties toward family, neighbor or God, Louÿs manages to mock every institution and leave no taboo unsullied. The Young Girl's Handbook of Good Manners has only grown more scandalous and subversive since its first appearance in 1926.

In this spoof of manners handbooks, kids break all the rules while they stillcan. Full-color illustrations.

In taking soup do not gurgle or make throat noises.Speak well of others or not at all is a good rule.'The Art of Good Manners' covers such topics as table manners, pronunciation, introductions, conversation, courtship and children's behaviour. It guides the reader in appropriate behaviour during each course at a dinner party and warns of possible pitfalls - 'to peel an orange, apple or pear with a fruit knife and fork requires some practice' - as well as explaining how a gentleman is expected to behave when ladies are present.