ABSTRACT
Apart from the actual bearing and suckling of children, there is probably no act which better epitomizes the maternal role than the preparation and serving of food. Food fads must of course be seen as part of a total social context. The child who cannot be sure whether another meal will be forthcoming today can hardly afford to be finicky over his dinner. In short, the possibility of being choosy presupposes the existence of choice. Concern over table-manners, particularly in public, is felt by mothers at all social levels; but some groups are more actively concerned than others. This chapter has tried to assess the will towards training children in good table manners, but there has been no quantitative assessment of the way; nor can it be judged with any exactness how successful mothers are in this task.
