Inspired parenting solutions from the police

When it comes to finding creative solutions to persistent parenting problems, one must cast one's net wide. And who better to look to for inspiration than our law enforcement agencies?

Inspired by the Metropolitan Police's recent knife amnesty, we decided to use similar tactics to deal with that most pernicious of problems: daytime dummy-sucking.

Yes, it's Day Two of our Daytime Dummy Amnesty.

With the grandparents threatening to apply to the council for an ASBO, we have instituted a regime whereby TS and TD are asked to surrender their dummies before leaving their bedroom after waking up in the morning and after their midday nap.

A dedicated dummy pot (complete with difficult-to-prise-open lid) has been placed by the bedroom door for this purpose.

We are pleased to report that there has been an immediate cessation of daytime dummy-sucking, with decreasing frequency of dummy requests during the day.

It is for this reason that we are asking people to put to one side Sir Iain Blair's terrorism-related blunders and consider how his more inspired policing solutions might be successfully applied in other areas of life.