# A teenager doesn't know how to cut up her own food **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146 "2012-12-26T02:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/81 "2012-12-27T01:34:36Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Welcome to a generation of children raised on pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers and fries. Yes, it’s real. It’s real in reality? Or in the imaginary world you just made up where lazy kids have never had a bowl of Cap’n Crunch? ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/82 "2012-12-27T01:37:57Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > if you can hold a cell phone you can hold a fork. If you can stab with a fork and rotate to your mouth then scooping should be possible. If, and I’m not saying this girl had MD, she might be able to text and hold a cellphone perfectly well, and not be able to manage meat cutting, or lifting a fork deftly to her mouth. My dad could handle a TV remote with no problem, but eating with utensils? That was a problem. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/83 "2012-12-27T01:41:57Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > It’s real in reality? Or in the imaginary world you just made up where lazy kids have never had a bowl of Cap’n Crunch? It’s real in the households of three extended family members I can think of. I didn’t actually make up those names, 'cause I’m lazy. Cap’n Crunch may be eaten in one of those households, but it’s dry, out of the box, in front of the TV, with a juice box on the side. (And she wonders why her kids never sleep.) ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/84 "2012-12-27T01:46:29Z")
Hold your hand somewhat slack and slightly loose like the claw from one of those games where you try to grab a stuffed animal. I just did this with my phone (an iPhone 4 with a battery case) and it’s not too hard to cradle it in your hands- I got a head start by casually sliding it to the side of table and scooping it as peeked off the edge. Once it is in your hand, it can be done with relatively little muscle tone, especially if you still have the muscle control. It didn’t work so well with a utensil, as utensils require constant even pressure that really needs decent muscle tone. Indeed, I found myself sort of half-cradling the fork and letting it kind of fall-stab. It’s not an easy task. > [@WhyNot](#): > > “Sophia can’t eat chili! It’s too spicy!” > “My Nathan won’t eat soup…it’s got vegetables in it!” > “Peas? Oh my god, Ella would never eat peas!” > “Two scoops, sugar cone, please!” > > Welcome to a generation of children raised on pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers and fries. Yes, it’s real. That’s bullshit. I was raised on exactly that stuff (and this was decades ago- kids these days, ideed) and I never had a problem using a fork. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/85 "2012-12-27T02:05:52Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > That’s bullshit. I was raised on exactly that stuff (and this was decades ago- kids these days, ideed) and I never had a problem using a fork. You do realize this proves nothing right? Besides your own abilities and personal history of course. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/86 "2012-12-27T02:17:43Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > You do realize this proves nothing right? Besides your own abilities and personal history of course. No different than anyone else’s anecdotes, then, including the anecdote hers was countering. Frankly it still puzzles me that spoiled brat is more logical than legit impairment. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/87 "2012-12-27T02:18:31Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > But irrelevant to this story. **proactive apology for continuing hijack** Sorry officer. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/88 "2012-12-27T02:19:09Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > **proactive apology for continuing hijack** > > Sorry officer. Carry on. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/89 "2012-12-27T02:28:43Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > No different than anyone else’s anecdotes, then, including the anecdote hers was countering. Frankly it still puzzles me that spoiled brat is more logical than legit impairment. But there is a difference between an anecdote that shows that something is possible because you saw it or did it yourself and one that seems to imply something is “bullshit” because you did it and therefore pretty much everyone can do it too. The first doesn’t prove much. The second doesn’t even make sense. ---
**Author:** ![SerafinaPekala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SerafinaPekala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SerafinaPekala)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/90 "2012-12-27T02:37:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And as someone who enforces those parking spots I know that the vast majority of the time the person parking there is not handicapped. Youre a meter maid? ---
**Author:** ![moejoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@moejoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moejoe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/91 "2012-12-27T02:38:53Z")
These behaviors sound more like anorexia than physical disability to me. Especially the fork poking and eating with fingers. Small bites are more manageable during recovery than regular sized ones, and fingers are less threatening than silverware. If there are issues around actually physically putting the food into your mouth, playing with it is a good way to get through dinner without having to do so. If your parents are trying to support you through recovery (and you want to get better), at some point you might give in and let dad cut the food up into very small pieces and try working with those. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/92 "2012-12-27T02:40:44Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > From the bodybuilder in the wheelchair who drives a sports car and posts about how people make assumptions and judge others without understanding their disability. > > My point is that there are occasions where a disability is not readily apparent or fully understood and I would expect a nurse to be one of the first to recognize this rather than just assume they were a spoiled brat. I am extremely puzzled by this post. First, by the fact that you choose this post of mine to quote. Did you see what I was quoting? It was a post by **Loach** (a police officer) saying that IHE most of the people parking in handicapped parking weren’t even disabled. It wasn’t even really relevant to this story, I just never see this admission being made by an able-bodied person, so I was making note of it. I didn’t make assumptions about anyone. Why are you picking on me? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/93 "2012-12-27T02:41:09Z")
I once spent a couple of weeks sharing a house with a postdoc who ate like a disabled toddler. I learned to avoid his meal times. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/94 "2012-12-27T02:45:45Z")
> [@Nancarrow](#): > > Oh, the irony. What?? The typo? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/95 "2012-12-27T02:50:16Z")
> [@SerafinaPekala](#): > > Youre a meter maid? Nm ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/96 "2012-12-27T02:55:01Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > “Sophia can’t eat chili! It’s too spicy!” > “My Nathan won’t eat soup…it’s got vegetables in it!” > “Peas? Oh my god, Ella would never eat peas!” > “Two scoops, sugar cone, please!” > > Welcome to a generation of children raised on pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers and fries. Yes, it’s real. When my daughter was 14 she went on a school sponsored trip to Europe. **WhtNot** is not far from the mark. There was on girl that had never used a knife, she did not know how to cut her food. Another girl that refused to eat cause the food was different. A couple of the girls were force feeding her at one point. And finally there was the girl that had never eaten a seeded grape and could not cope with seeds. My daughter said she just stood there with her mouth open going Ewwwwww, and was stumped about what to do next. All of these girls were upper middle class or above with no disabilities other then their parents had epically failed at raising a functional human. My opinion of my child rearing skills went up several points when I heard these stories. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/97 "2012-12-27T03:01:38Z")
> [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I haven’t either. What I _have_ seen plenty of over the years is kids who magically lose their abilities to do simple tasks when those tasks aren’t to their liking. It’s like a social form of passive resistance–they’re not putting up a fuss about doing something, they just can’t do it. Have you honestly never had a kid ask you to tie their shoes for them, and when you say “No, I know you can do it for yourself” they suddenly can’t do it? And make a big production out of trying and making a hash out of it trying to get you to do it for them? Or seen one develop butterfingers when you make them pick up their room when they want to be outside playing? Never had one magically lose their ability to use utensils or chew with their mouth closed or whatever when you feed them something they don’t want to eat for whatever reason? Really? > > Most kids grow out of that sort of thing, but a fair number of them don’t and become the sort of adults who will do the shittiest, most half-assed job possible on things they don’t want to do in hopes that people will stop making them do those things. Or who will, when they don’t get their way about something, make things as huge a pain in the ass as possible as punishment. > > IME, those folks are far, far thicker on the ground than folks with legitimate neurological impairments that affect utensil use but not phone use. When you pair that with the kid grumping about wanting to be with her friends…I think brat punishing Dad by making this dinner out a huge steaming pain in his ass is a more likely explanation than poor pitiful disabled child. Real-world, common-sense thinking. I like it. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/98 "2012-12-27T03:07:12Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Maybe she had ADHD and Asperger’s and Seasonal Affective Disorder and fibromyalgia and her religion forbids her from cutting her own food, and she wasn’t “texting” but communicating with her companion Tamagotchi that she is legally permitted to carry with her to help prevent panic attacks and provide alerts for oncoming seizures. Bet you feel like a real heel for never considering _that_ scenario, don’t you, OP? > [@CrazyCatLady](#): > > I haven’t either. What I _have_ seen plenty of over the years is kids who magically lose their abilities to do simple tasks when those tasks aren’t to their liking. It’s like a social form of passive resistance–they’re not putting up a fuss about doing something, they just can’t do it. Have you honestly never had a kid ask you to tie their shoes for them, and when you say “No, I know you can do it for yourself” they suddenly can’t do it? And make a big production out of trying and making a hash out of it trying to get you to do it for them? Or seen one develop butterfingers when you make them pick up their room when they want to be outside playing? Never had one magically lose their ability to use utensils or chew with their mouth closed or whatever when you feed them something they don’t want to eat for whatever reason? Really? > > Most kids grow out of that sort of thing, but a fair number of them don’t and become the sort of adults who will do the shittiest, most half-assed job possible on things they don’t want to do in hopes that people will stop making them do those things. Or who will, when they don’t get their way about something, make things as huge a pain in the ass as possible as punishment. > > IME, those folks are far, far thicker on the ground than folks with legitimate neurological impairments that affect utensil use but not phone use. When you pair that with the kid grumping about wanting to be with her friends…I think brat punishing Dad by making this dinner out a huge steaming pain in his ass is a more likely explanation than poor pitiful disabled child. Best two posts of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/99 "2012-12-27T03:12:09Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I am extremely puzzled by this post. First, by the fact that you choose this post of mine to quote. Did you see what I was quoting? It was a post by **Loach** (a police officer) saying that IHE most of the people parking in handicapped parking weren’t even disabled. It wasn’t even really relevant to this story, I just never see this admission being made by an able-bodied person, so I was making note of it. > > I didn’t make assumptions about anyone. Why are you picking on me? Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend or pick on you. I made a comment about how people shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover and used an anecdote that has been posted many times before about how sometimes people who park in handicap parking are challenged by others because their disability may not be obvious. You responded to someone who was poo pooing that with the response that he enforces the law and it is more often someone who isn’t impaired at all. My point wasn’t that it doesn’t happen… and maybe even frequently… but that there is a chance that you don’t recognize a certain disability, and it is frustrating to be accused of something when it may truly be beyond your control. I thought it was ironic that someone who is an advocate for the rights of the disabled would applaud the post saying that if it is ok to just go with what is assumed to be obvious. I understand you are a very fit guy… and drive a car that doesn’t look like a normal disabled van. And I believe you have been challenged by parking that car in a spot and someone assumed that couldn’t be right. I hope I’ve learned some things from your posts and hope people can learn from ours as well. People seem more eager to jump to the conclusion that the kid was a spoiled brat and not even consider that there could be other explanations. Even though many of us have shared deeply personal experiences of how the same assumptions have hurt our friends, family, loved ones, or even ourselves. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146/100 "2012-12-27T03:15:34Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > I have an 11 year old close relative with severe food phobias, and he will literally only eat a handful of things (bread, chicken strips, cheese pizza and waffles) and he has no problem using a knife and fork. Never heard an example of fussy eating in my generation. You ate what was on the table or you were sent to bed hungry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-teenager-doesnt-know-how-to-cut-up-her-own-food/645146.md?page=6)