Eating with a knife and fork in the wrong hands

[Getabloominmoveon]

Just sat in a cafe next to a whole family eating with their fork in the right hand and knife in the left. On the other side a young guy was struggling to chop up his food with just a fork. A few weeks ago an adult friend of mine admitted she didn’t know which way to set a table.This is In the UK btw.

When did this start? Have they never eaten with a table set with cutlery? Don’t people teach their kids how to eat properly any more?

At the risk of sounding like Hyacinth Bouquet AIBU to think that this is a basic life skill and people should eat with their cutlery in the right hands (unless left-handed, different cultures, Americans and all the other caveats of course).

This is really ignorant. Half the world eats with their hands and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Yes, eating a roast with fingers is unusual but your post comes across as quite superior.

Don’t go out to a restaurant here. You might pass out.

Thank you @LampHat I’ve been scrolling through to see if anyone said this.

I have very good table manners, chew with my mouth closed, elbows off the table, don't take the last item etc. However, I do eat with my fork in my right hand even though I am right handed, I don't believe there is anything wrong with this.

My son was a bit ambidextrous when young and I notice he sometimes reverses his cutlery. I was taught that you hold your knife hand above with index finger pointing along the top, and it drives me nuts that my daughter holds hers underneath like a pen!
However I'd probably raise eyebrows as I grew up in America and have a habit of cutting all my food up first then swapping hands to eat everything with just a fork in my right hand. I don't tend to do this when out at a proper restaurant though!

2 lefties in my family, they both eat with knife in their right hands, like the rest of us.

My oldest DS eats the wrong way round. I didn't actually notice until he was about 12

Tbf he's 23 now and it hasn't affected his life. He just graduated with a 1st (not so stealthy boast)

I use a shovel in the wrong hand and chew like a politician. Not even sorry 🤤

Don't lump us lefthanded people together! I eat the right way round (my right handed sister eats the wrong way around though!)

There is no right or wrong way to eat though.

... there's no right or wrong way round ...

Just BS made up rules from rich people who had nothing better to do with their time apart from get changed for meals our of their previous clothes and make up random rules about which spoon to use and where it should be on a table and which angle to have cutlery...

I can “saw” my food perfectly with the knife in my left hand as can everyone else I know that holds their cutlery this way.
so maybe it was just your ex that had an issue and perhaps would have been easier for him to switch.

When goady fuckers pretend they don't know they're goady fuckers and cry about being a victim after they get called out for their goady fuckery... 🙄

😂 as if you even noticed, you weirdo.

Despite being right handed, I use my cutlery the " wrong way round"
I have Cerebral palsy on my left side, and I can't control the knife anyway!!
I can't say I notice whatever other people use
As long as they leave the table reasonably clean, why should it matter?

Snap! I think my Mum noticed my right handed DH uses them the "wrong" way before I did. I'm left handed and eat the "right" way!!! 🤷‍♀️

I'd hazard a guess that it goes back to the old bias against left handers.

But if we want to be picky, forks are a more recent invention than knives. People used to eat using a small knife and hands. Which just shows that etiquette and manners evolve and aren't static.

I agree it's a life skill.

Despite the fact that they were born and brought up in the US I taught my DCs to eat as I was taught in Ireland. We also all learned to manage chopsticks. One of the DCs is a lefty too, but they've all managed.

My DCs are culturally fluent and prepared for wherever their careers will take them. One in particular has had interview processes for jobs that have involved conversations over meals, and she felt confident that she knew what she was doing with her cutlery, how to tackle soup, etc.

Teaching your children this sort of skill and making sure they practice it makes life easier for them in the long run.

Yes, table manners do change over time, and they vary greatly from place to place too.

I would expect British people to be aware that people do things differently elsewhere, and to attempt to follow local norms in other parts of the world.

Eating with the fork in the right hand is not a character flaw to be erased or a challenge to overcome. It's just more comfortable for some people, the majority of whom are left handed. What's wrong with that?

I always ate with cutlery in the wrong hands... Used to piss my dad off something fierce growing up but it's much more comfortable and easier for me. I am right handed. I was brought up with table manners being very important. I know what cutlery goes with what etc. But I just choose to be uncouth 😂

A fair few young people don't as they eat a lot of carry-outs. An American shows just use a fork. They will grow up and not know how to teach their kids either.

I’m right handed - but I only write with my right hand. Everything else is done the “wrong” way. And I’m dyspraxic.

Who has the fucking time to get so wound up about what hand someone holds their fork in? Some of you need to get a hobby or ten.

I eat with them in the wrong hand because I find it easier. Never been an issue. Why should I struggle to hold it in a way that doesn't feel comfortable.

“Knew what she was doing with cutlery, how to tackle soup” Baaahahaha.