Take your hand and make it into a puppet.
Talk a little with it. “Hi, Puppet!” “Hi, you! I like you!” Isn’t that fun?
Now pretend that your puppet is eating something, like cereal. Or beans. Or a hamburger. Or chicken tetrazzini. Nothing dry and crunchy like a cookie – no, something involving gravy.
Chomp chomp chomp. Don’t you dare try to ‘eat’ by closing up your fingers. Nope, flap those straight fingers and chomp chomp chomp. Flap chomp flap chomp. Let little bits of pretend food just fly and let everyone at the table see everything that you are gnashing! Fling food bit here and there and make lots of noise! Smack a little!
This never happens in real life.
With one particular child.
Ever.