Open real wide

As many of you know, my son is obsessed with snakes. He LOVES them! He is determined to be a herpetologist when he grows up. He wants to milk snakes for their venom.........every mother's dream. So, lately he has decided to start eating like a snake. This causes problems. He tries to put his food in his mouth without cutting it and then tries to swallow without chewing, because, "snakes don't chew mom, they swallow things whole." Well, good for them - not so good for a 6 year-old boy. I can't even tell you how many times I have looked over at the dinner table and seen my son with a whole piece of chicken on his fork trying to move his cheeks back and forth to fit the whole piece in his mouth. Choking inevitably follows. I am not sure why being human is such a bad thing, or why chewing is not the option, but it makes dinner more fun at our house.