David, Grace, Sarah and Emma Bellis

I walked into the living room yesterday to find Emma shouting on one side of the room, and Sarah looking rather downcast on the other. When I asked Sarah what had happened, she struggled for a while to get the right words, then tearfully told me 'Emma eat me all up'!.

That evening Grace told me the full story she'd got from Ching-ching - Emma had been trying to 'walk' past Sarah, holding on to the edge of a shelf. Sarah had objected, bumping her back with her bum - so Emma registered her disapproval by biting her. Grace then admitted that she also had a reputation as a biter when she was little. Can Emma claim she is a victim of her genes?