Child's Play.

My godson, Doodle, is at that age where he's fascinated by everything, particularly technology. Mobile phones, ipods, the DVD player, the games console. My Blackberry is something he loves to get his hands on (but can't figure out how to use it as E.Hales has an Iphone, and my Blackberry has buttons - Auntie Vicki 1, Doodle 0!) He knows how to turn the DVD player on, change disks and then play a different movie (and this happens in the two minutes when E.Hales and I are in the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil!) It's crazy!

Another thing he's recently become fascinated with is my blood testing kit. Except, out of all the bits of technology I carry in my handbag, it's the one thing that really can't be used as a "toy". Except, what do you tell a two-year-old other than "no". I felt there needed to be some sort of explanation as to why I wanted him to take my Blackberry over the glucose meter.

- "Doodle's?"

- "No, Doodle, this one's Auntie Vicki's; I need it to stay healthy."

- "No, Doodle's."

- "Sorry, Doodle. Here, play with my phone."

- "No!" 

- "Doodle, you can't have this one. It's special. Auntie Vicki has diabetes. Can you say 'diabetes'?"

- "Diabebes!"

- "Close enough! Auntie Vicki uses it to check her blood. Do you want to help? [Doodle nods] Ok, take a srtip from the pot...just one! Good boy! [I put strip into meter and it turns on - Doodle's amazed. I get finger-pricker and place it on my little finger] Now, I need you to press this button here and you'll here a clicking sound when it's done. [Doodle presses button. I check my blood. Number appears.] What number's that, Doodle?"

- "Six!"

- "And what does the other number say?"

- "Nine!"

- "And what colour is the rectangle next to the number?"

- "Green!"

- "And what does 'green' mean?"

- "GO!"

Close enough. Then he found something else to play with.