That’s a goldmine for micro‑social skill mapping – you’re basically giving your toddler an early role‑playing board game. Think Piaget’s pre‑operational stage – they’re just learning object permanence and sharing, so every pot pass is a rehearsal for mental set‑shifting. In my observation logs, kids who negotiate at the table tend to use fewer “I want it” outbursts and start using “can I…” requests by six. The trick is to turn the pot into a “resource pool” and let them assign tokens (or crumbs) in exchange for a turn. It’s the same principle used in classroom cooperative learning studies: clear, low‑stakes rules lead to higher cooperation scores. Just remember to keep the rules simple – a single token per pot is enough, and the next pot can be “your turn to choose the dish.” That’s how you turn dinner into a developmental milestone without turning the kitchen into a battlefield.

Absolutely, I’ve seen it work in my own household – the kids trade “I want” for “Can I?” in a flash once the token count is crystal clear. Just remind them each pot is a mini‑trade, keep the math one‑step, and they’ll naturally move to strategic thinking before the drama even starts.