Biting into food brings out the…. animal in kids, which can lead to housebreaking. To housebreak your kids, cut up their food.

You’re entertaining…….. a gaggle of kids. Since a gaggle of kids, can be challenging, really challenging, you want to make your life as easy as possible.

The first thing you need to sort out, is what to feed them. At first glance, “finger” foods that can be consumed without too much fuss aka. cutlery, appear ideal.

• A whole apple
• A drum stick
• Corn on the cob

All you have to do, is plop the item on the plate………….. no need to pre-cut the items, because each child will be able to bite off a piece, chew and swallow.

Less work for you.

Not really. Researchers from Cornell Food and Brand Lab have just discovered, that biting into a food item, often leads to “biting” behaviour.

Biting into lunch

The research team went to camp along with 12 kids, between the ages of 6 and 10 years.

Chicken was on the menu.

But, the chicken was served a little differently – on one occasion it was served on the bone, on the other occasion, it was served in bite sized pieces.

Serving up lunch

The kids were divided into two groups and seated at different picnic tables. An instruction was given, for the kids to remain in the vicinity of the table. The tables were closely monitored, both by the counsellor assigned to the table, and remotely via a video camera.

Lunch was served.

Each group received a different lunch. One group received the chicken on the bone on day one, the other received chicken on the bone on day 2.

Biting brings out the….

Animal in kids.

Well it seemed to, both the counsellors and the coders who viewed the video tape, felt behaviour had been worse, when the kids were served chicken on the bone.

They reported the kids biting into the chicken

• Were twice as aggressive
• Were twice as likely to disobey the adults
• And generally get up to mischief.

Mischief including standing and jumping on the picnic table and leaving the vicinity of the table. In short, doing the things only a gaggle of children can do.

Housebreaking…

A gaggle of kids can put a house in jeopardy, so it is probably useful to know how to housebreak the kids.

The secret – cut up their food.

It might be more work upfront, but they’ll be more relaxed at the dinner table, and so will you.

Further reading

Why did the dish run away with the spoon ?	Good table manners are a requirement for seed eating	Biting into too many “apples” the beginning of obesity ?

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