By Rick Kaempfer
My son Johnny loves hats. Just loves ‘em. He probably has two dozen different hats in his closet of all different shapes and sizes.
He wears them in the spring, summer, winter and fall. He wears them in the morning, afternoon, evening and night. But there are two places he’s not allowed to wear a hat, and he is having a hard time dealing with it because he doesn’t understand the reasons and no-one can explain it to him. He can’t wear a hat at school and he can’t wear a hat at the dinner table.
He asked his teacher why he wasn’t allowed to wear his Cubs hat at school and she told him that it’s just a school rule. When he asked why it was a rule, she didn’t really have an answer.
“It just is.”
At home I let him wear the hat inside the house, but when it’s time for dinner, I make him take it off. This is something my mother and father always cracked down on, and I just do it out of reflex. When he asked me why he couldn’t wear his hat at the dinner table, I told him it was considered rude. When he asked why it was considered rude, I didn’t really have an answer.
“It just is.”
So, let me ask this question to my fellow parents. Why is it considered rude to wear a hat at the dinner table? Does it really do any harm? Is there a historical reason for this rule that no longer applies?
I know that some people will always be offended if he wears a hat at the table (like my mom), but I must confess that it really doesn’t bother me. To be honest, I never really understood this rule. Should I keep enforcing a seemingly meaningless etiquette rule without even knowing why?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
