One may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but there are some dogs you probably shouldn’t try to teach any tricks. Aside from knife throwing and that knife between the fingers tabletop thing, there just aren’t that many good things to do with a kitchen knife aside from the preparation of food. Especially when it comes to kids’ knives.

More bark than bite, the Kuhn Rikon kinderkitchen Kids’ Dog Knives are specially designed with kids in mind and feature blades that are just sharp enough to cut through soft foods. Available in either a serrated version or not, the bright designs are intended to attract kids into the kitchen—which actually might be the best trick of all.

Kids running around like monkeys in the morning? Tame them with the Nonstick Circus Waffle Maker by Smart Planet. Measuring 9.25-inches by 9.75-inches, the Original Circus Waffler makes three circus-themed Belgian-style waffles in less than four minutes.

Just like mornings can be on the blurry side (not too much for the kids, hopefully), so too can be this waffler. I see an elephant for sure, and I’m guessing the other two are a lion and a clown. But hey, the kids won’t care how abstract the waffles look when you cover them with butter and syrup. Add some whipped cream to top them off, and your calm little angels will be monkeys again in no time.

Puzzles fire the imagination; food fuels everything else. (Well, food ultimately supplies the fuel for everything, but hey, who’s counting?) To a young mind, food that is shaped like something it is not, can be a spark leading to bigger and better things in life—or maybe they just hate crusts. Either way, the Lunch Punch Match & Munch and Critter Cutters have them covered.

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There’s a new breed of pizza-maker out there: one that appreciates the tradition and culture of pizza. Like what microbrewing did for beer drinking, artisan pizza-makers are doing for the classic pie. Restaurants are popping up dedicated to the craft of pizza-making, and the results show in a quality menu. However, for all this attention heaped upon dough, sauce and cheese, the average slice still lacks soul. To be able to partake in this new pizza culture requires a commitment of an entire pie; sometimes I just want to go down to the corner and grab a slice.

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Feeding your child with the tried and true ‘airplane’ method is all fine and good (it is tried and true for a reason), but for serious food fun it may be time to think of a more grounded approach. The Child Puzzle Tray by Wendy Boudewijns for Royalvkb practically guarantees your kid will be distracted at feeding time. Considering children and how they generally feel about their veggies, that’s probably a good thing. Plus, it all just fits together so nicely when done. Available at Unica for $66; no ‘vroom’ sounds included or needed.

If you’ve got little ones running about, chances are when it comes to sandwiches, they prefer them with the crusts cut off. It also is highly probable that at times you wish they would make them on their own. However, a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich can turn into a messy fiasco as kids try to master the art of sandwich construction. At least when it comes to the crust-removal department, there is a solution.

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