Up the garden, we have an old sweeping brush. Phoebe seems to think that it belongs to her and nobody else is allowed to handle it. "Mine!" she snaps or "It's Phoebe's brush!" as she clenches it with a vice-like grip.
She had a sleep-over here last night and was already in her cot when I zoomed off to "Lidl" with my faithful South Korean companion - Clint. In the supermarket I spotted the child-sized sweeping brush shown above - which I bought for £4.99, thinking that it would be just right for Little Phoebe and much safer than handling an adult sized brush.
She was still awake when I got home and I showed her her new brush. She was delighted and set to straight away sweeping up her cot. I took it from her, promising she could use it today.
Downstairs, I noticed this on the shaft of the brush...
Oh dear! The sweeping brush is only intended for use by children over three years old. Phoebe is two years and four months old so by using the brush she would be endangering her life. Silly me! I hadn't realised this.
Lower down the shaft their are warnings in five languages - English, Danish, French, Dutch and German: "Warning: To be used under the direct supervision of an adult. Store out of reach of children under 3 years old. Observe the warning notices. In the event of non-compliance, injuries may occur... Do not leave the brush upside down!"
This all seems to be over the top to me. After all, it's a small brush we are talking about - not an axe or a sub-machine gun. Frances tells me that the lowest starting age for nearly all children's things appears to be 3+. We guess this excessive caution is all to do with potential litigation.
I am happy to report that Phoebe used the 3+ brush this afternoon without any hiccoughs. She did not poke out one of Grandpa's eyes with it and she did not attempt to swallow it - nor did she chase pigeons with it or whack our neighbour's cat - Bonkers.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/R2dmHve
