For years I’ve heard people say to me “never work with children or animals”. Not being one to do as I’m told, one day I thought I’d give it a try.

What’s the worse that could happen I wondered?? Collapsed set? Tears & tantrums? Accidents of the bodily fluid type? Being bitten? My camera being used to stir sand?

A few years on, I can say: Yep, pretty much all of the above has happened, and more!! But what no one ever mentioned was how much fun it is….the smiles from these cute kids as they try and suss me and the camera out; the hilarity of a dog trampling and slobbering all over the set; random toddlers who want to join in and play despite screaming blue murder 5 minutes before. Then I’ve got parents in my periphery vision doing ANYTHING to get their kids to smile and laugh. I should have a candid camera set up just for the potential YouTube clips.

Yeah, so my knees ache from cruising around on a hard floor. My coffee gets cold and I always miss the Toddler Group cake, but the best thing?? I get to play with the toys!!