Recently a friend told me that she’d love to take her family to The Ritz-Carlton for Thanksgiving Brunch but she’s too worried about her 7-year-old’s table manners to attend. She said that no matter what she does, he continues to burp at the dinner table, and she’s concerned that her three-year-old will soon follow in his footsteps.

I can understand her situation. She’s fantasizing about a lavish buffet complete with the a glass of champagne and a service staff to clean up afterward. Instead, she’ll be at home cooking, cleaning and telling her son to stop burping.

Throughout the years that I’ve been teaching manners, I’ve found that most parents do instill good manners in their children, it’s just that kids don’t like to listen to their parents. Sometimes it takes a class and instruction from a manner’s teacher before a child will learn and start implementing good manners.

If your child, or a child you know, could benefit from a manners class (before or after the holidays), here are the next classes being offered in Sarasota and Ft. Myers, Florida:

December 1, 2010 —  The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota (941-309-2008)

January 8 and February 5, 2011 — The Edison & Ford Winter Estates, (239-334-7419)