the manners worm

I briefly mentioned our Manners Worm in the last post. I read a blog post a long time ago that was shared on a mommy bloghop about a pig that was passed around the table when anyone used poor manners. (Here it is.) All parents hate giving the same instruction over and over, don't we?

Being the only female in the house, I tolerate a lot of gross stuff. But things can get pretty out of hand, and these boys need to know how to control their bodily functions, if only during meal time. They know the rules, and I'm tired of repeating them. But what's an appropriate consequence for bad table manners?

Enter the Manners Worm. Whoever uses bad manners is given the Worm, and it is passed to the next person to use bad manners. Sometimes we make it through dinner with no one getting the Worm! Whoever has it at the end of the meal gets an extra chore added on to their regular after supper chores.

These are our rules:

• Burp or fart at the table, and you get the worm. If you need to do one of those: say "excuse me" (NOT "I'm going to toot!!!"), go to the bathroom, do it there, return to the table.
• Sing at the table, and you get the worm. Your mouth should be used for eating.
• Talk about vomit, poop, or other grossness during dinner, and you get the worm.
• Whoever has the worm at the end of dinner has to clear the table (though they are still small enough now that I have to help them carry some things).