The Hot Sauce Effect

Kyle (who is only 3 years old) asked me the other day, "Mom, what will we do when we run out of hot sauce?"

I paused for a moment to put his question into context. Was he really worried about eating tacos without Tabasco? Or what life would be like if Mom didn't make such spicy chili? Maybe he was contemplating a world where his mouth didn't burn during a meal. I always tell the kids it's good for them to taste a little heat in their food occasionally--it builds their tolerance and turns boys into men!

Kyle repeated himself and then clarified the question for me with this. "Will we have to put cinnamon in our mouths instead and spit it out?"

Aaahhh. The context: corporal punishment! I only recently had to break down and administer the hot sauce punishment to Grant. It was almost as painful for me as it was for the poor boy. Grant's unfortunate experience obviously spilled over to Kyle and left quite an impression. Kyle likely won't make the similar word choices which left his brother in the hot sauce predicament. This must be the Hot Sauce Effect playing out. Hopefully, this effect will last through Kyle's childhood. Or maybe he'll get cinnamon instead!