I see “Don’t play with your food” as being in the same category as “Sit still! Don’t fidget! Be quiet! Don’t touch this!” which are all basically “Don’t do anything which might end up with me expending more energy on you” mixed with a dose of “I am your boss so you do as I say”.
And yes, I agree with Dagon that parents are often judged by how well-behaved their kids are, so there is pressure to train them to behave as small Victorian-era adults.
Not sure there is one.
I see “Don’t play with your food” as being in the same category as “Sit still! Don’t fidget! Be quiet! Don’t touch this!” which are all basically “Don’t do anything which might end up with me expending more energy on you” mixed with a dose of “I am your boss so you do as I say”.
And yes, I agree with Dagon that parents are often judged by how well-behaved their kids are, so there is pressure to train them to behave as small Victorian-era adults.
I’m inclined to believe this because it fits with pretty much all the scenarios I have seen it used.