Right next to our front door stands an ever present collection of sticks. Our 5-year-old son Pim is like a dog, seriously! Every time we go to the park, he will find a stick and insists on taking it home. Some of them are too big for him to carry alone, so he has to convince his big sister to help him.

Because I don't allow sticks in our house, they are displayed right next to the front door -- which is the closest the sticks will get to his bed, because he would take them up there if he could, I am sure about it. My husband once threw away all the sticks, which was a mistake. Pim was inconsolable and I admit that even I was upset. Those sticks seriously meant so much to him!

A friend sent me the link to this interesting article in the Guardian last week. Hannah Evans is a mother of three boys and her article did shed some light on my little boy and his stick obsession. I quote:

'And thus, sticks. For I have learned that boys like, nay love, sticks. But a stick to a boy is far, far more than an inanimate object. A stick is a toy, a weapon, a friend and a foe. A stick is adventure, possibilities, destruction and danger. And in the right time and place – or even better, in the wrong – a stick is everything.'

And:

'"Stick significance" is part and parcel of being a child. And so, "Will you put that bloomin' stick down … it's only a bit of wood!" is a bit like telling me that my coffee would taste just as good out of any old mug.'

So they stay, the sticks, next to our front door, and the collection grows. Do you have a child who collects sticks too?

xxx Esther