If you learned to eat Continental style, at what age did you start using a knife?

[secchick]

I do the Continental style in terms of the way I hold, but use the fork in the right and knife in the left. I suppose the hybrid comes from living in Europe when I was in first grade, which I guess was when I started using a knife.

[brittone2]

My kids haven't adopted a specific "style" yet (DH uses continental, I do not). Both were introduced to using a knife before age 3. They sometimes lost their knife privileges, or needed reminders, but overall they were fine with using it from early on.

[lowrioh]

I do the Continental style in terms of the way I hold, but use the fork in the right and knife in the left. I suppose the hybrid comes from living in Europe when I was in first grade, which I guess was when I started using a knife.

I do the exact same thing. I started eating that way when I was studying overseas and I didn't want to look like an American Oaf.

[bcafe]

For those of you who eat with the fork in the left hand, do you place your right hand in your lap after using the knife? I was taught to keep your non-eating hand/arm in your lap.

[ellies mom]

For those of you who eat with the fork in the left hand, do you place your right hand in your lap after using the knife? I was taught to keep your non-eating hand/arm in your lap.

Normally, you only cut off one piece at a time so it really isn't a non-eating hand. So, instead of "cut cut cut eat eat eat"' it is more of a "cut eat cut eat cut eat".

[AnnieW625]

I think I introduced the knife when DD1 was 3, but closer to 4 than 3.

I hold my knife with my right hand to cut, and will hold my fork in my left hand to hold a piece of meat or bread in place while cutting, but will always eat with my right hand.

My sister eats true Continental style, but that's because she's ambidexterous, but really should be left handed (but no one in our family was left handed so my mom just assumed she'd be right handed so taught her stuff that way; it wasn't until she tried to learn cursive, started dribbling a basketball, and eating with her left hand that they figured she was probably left handed).

[BabbyO]

I cannot eat Continental style for the life of me. It's American style or bare hands!

Me neither...although I've been trying to teach myself off and on since taking a "Miss Manners" class in college where they taught you how to behave during a business meal or interview. I'm glad I took it, too.

I also tried to eat continental style when we went to Greece last year...with some success.

[gatorsmom]

I don't care which way the kids eat because I think it is more of a regional style thing than a manners thing..

I really didn't know that it had anything to do with manners. When I started eating in the continental manner, I realized I can pick up my food more efficiently! I find I'm not chasing peas or rice all over my plate in an effort to pick them up. I can just scoop them onto my fork with my knife. Also, I find it MUCH easier to eat a leafy salad in the continental style rather than the American way of trying to stab everything onto my fork.

[gatorsmom]

For those of you who eat with the fork in the left hand, do you place your right hand in your lap after using the knife? I was taught to keep your non-eating hand/arm in your lap.

That's the American style. With the continental style, you are constantly using your knife, so you never set it down and therefore never put your hand/arm in your lap. You are either cutting or pushing food onto the fork with the knife.

As a funny aside, my host family (and I heard this from other friends in Europe) said that they always wondered what people were doing with their hand that was in their lap!