Every workplace has rules around health and safety. But my children seem to be flouting this guidance in times of working from home/home educating.
For those of you who don’t know, a Didicar is a ride on scooter type mechanism with a steering wheel that teaches your children how to steer, move etc.
My youngest, aged 2, loved the Didicar experience at a party we went to and was kindly bought one last year for his birthday. Much of his time is spent doing laps of our dining table/relays down the hall much to his amusement.
However, his acquired Didicar has led to much squabbling amongst the troops when they all wanted to go on it (they are apparently for children weighing 3.8kg up to adults weighing 120kg!!)
So, it was my daughter’s 6th birthday in March and she requested a pink Didicar which has resulted in a Didicar Grand Prix around aforementioned dining table and hot pursuit of each other down the hallway, skidding round corners on the two back wheels on my wooden floor.
However. Pre-lockdown, the Didicar may have had an early morning outing, but post school run, Didicar number one would have been parked out of business all day while the children were at school and my youngest was at the childminders.
Post-lockdown, however, is a whole different situation, especially with not one, but TWO Didicars in town. While I am minding my own business working, the Didicars are out in force which means they can be abandoned in a variety of places.
Example a) On descending the stairs with an armful of laundry, I stepped onto what I thought was the hall floor only to be greeted by the Didicar which practically plunged me head first into the garage, scattering socks and pants en route which I tried to hop off this skateboard-esque mechanism. I’m too old for skateboarding!
b) I get up from my desk, there’s a Didicar behind me for me to stumble across.
c) I come out of the bathroom, a Didicar greets me, if it is not present during bathroom visit.
d) I’m cooking dinner with one or two Didicars present, passing judgement on my Delia’s cheese sauce after they have been abandoned by the children entering the kitchen in search of snacks.
This workplace I was not prepared for. This was not a pre-lockdown hazard. Sometimes the Didicars are alone, sometimes they are mounted – both of them - and headed straight for my heels.
Lesson 1 for the children tomorrow: Health and safety in the workplace!
