What's wrong with using a fork?

[gavroche]

I noticed that more and more people are using just their fingers when they eat. Are they being lazy or just lack proper table manners? I think kids are the worst for that. Our grandson keeps doing it despite repeated attempts to educate him. What really annoys me is the fact that he doesn't wash his greasy hands afterwards.

 

[alicat]

He's a smart child already - why use external implements when you have something better already attached to your wrists? I'd be more concerned about him washing his hands before he eats.

 

[Illaveago]

For soup ?

 

[biggs682]

Totally agree I prefer knives and forks

 

[Ian H]

Lord Berners' mother was apparently so proper she would eat an apple with a knife and fork.

 

[ianrauk]

It's certainly nothing to get all worked up about. Most of world's population eat with their fingers. And as someone has said, that's what hands are designed for.
For young kids, as long as they are eating then that's a good thing.
Washing hands before and after eating is a given thing. That's where the education is needed.

 

[Cycleops]

Most food down here is eaten with the hand (right not left) although knife fork and spoon are also used. In fact it would be difficult to eat some dishes with implements.
Which you do is a question of culture really.
Washing hands prior is obviously a necessity.

 

[roley poley]

Most food down here is eaten with the hand (right not left) although knife fork and spoon are also used. In fact it would be difficult to eat some dishes with implements.
Which you do is a question of culture really.
Washing hands prior is obviously a necessity.

Good point..many cultures view the left as the hand you use for the toilet and reaching for a portion of food from a communal source can cause problems for your host, fellow guests and you

 

[Cycleops]

Good point..many cultures view the left as the hand you use for the toilet and reaching for a portion of food from a communal source can cause problems for your host, fellow guests and you

In fact so much so if somebody is forced to give you something with the left they apologise.

 

[C R]

Good point..many cultures view the left as the hand you use for the toilet and reaching for a portion of food from a communal source can cause problems for your host, fellow guests and you

Which is also extremely unfair to left handed people. Just because something is a cultural tradition doesn't make it reasonable.

 

[Cycleops]

Unfortunately that's often the case with culture.
One of ours favours his left but using it to eat with with is a no no.

 

[MichaelW2]

How can you express a forthright opinion at the table without waving a fork ?

 

[welsh dragon]

For soup ?

Smart a**e .

Sorry but in this day and age, if the worst thing he does is eat his food with his hands I find it hard to get annoyed. Too many people get too uptight and angry and offended at just about anything. I had a son who would hardly eat at all, so I would have been grateful if he had used his fingers just as long as he ate it.

You eat fish and chips from the chip shop with your fingers, you eat chicken and chips with your fingers. In lots of countries they eat their food with fingers.

 

[Illaveago]

Smart a**e .

Sorry but in this day and age, if the worst thing he does is eat his food with his hands I find it hard to get annoyed. Too many people get too uptight and angry and offended at just about anything. I had a son who would hardly eat at all, so I would have been grateful if he had used his fingers just as long as he ate it.

You eat fish and chips from the chip shop with your fingers, you eat chicken and chips with your fingers. In lots of countries they eat their food with fingers.

When I was young I only ate mashed potato and gravy and that was with a teaspoon .

 

[Cycleops]

For soup ?

Yes, even soup here. It's served not by itself but with a carbo (fufu here)

in the middle, this can be used for soaking up the liquid and any residue left is drunk from the bowl.
Yes, portions here are large