DON’T toddlers get attached to the strangest things? Most of us have a fond memory of our favourite teddy bear from our childhood and may even still possess him, but I’m not talking about those little cute cuddle-makers. Let me tell you about my friend’s little girl who is eighteen months old and her obsession with her dad’s pants! She loves them. When they’re drying on the radiator, they won’t be left for more than a couple of minutes before she’s scooped them up and given them a big hug. She carries them wherever she goes, even out of the house. They go with her to the shops, to the park and even on a trip to the dentist, but her favourite thing is to put them on - at least three pairs of jockey shorts - and wear them around the house so she looks like a boxer from the 1920s. When my little one was younger, she loved holding on to a kid’s coat hanger. I have no idea why. She just loved it, waving it at people that we passed on the street from her buggy. The best story came from Amy, one of our Heart Breakfast listeners, whose three-year-old boy has a full collection of Ikea washing-up brushes because he loves them so much. His mum has had to put a time limit on him choosing which colour to take out.

We’re well into wedding season now and I always have a dilemma about how much money to put in a card. More often than not these days, couples will ask for a contribution towards their honeymoon, rather than a toaster, so I’m faced with putting a monetary value on our friendship. The questions that have a bearing on how much I give include: how long have I known them; how many scrapes have they got me out of and how often do I see them? And then there is: am I going to the whole day or just the evening do; how good will the buffet be and will there be wine on the table? It all takes some thought. I think that’s why there was such uproar this week when a bride and groom asked one of their guests to think about “adjusting” their £100 gift to the happy couple as it didn’t “seem to match the warmth of your good wishes on our big day”. They should think themselves lucky - I only put a fiver in my mate’s card!

Tune in to Heart Breakfast with Rich and Zoe, weekdays from 6am to 10am on Heart (96-103 FM, digital radio, at heart.co.uk).

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here