The one in which we talk about ducking 'witches'

THE Godson is having a crisis of faith.

"I'm not a Christian any more," he says, in passing.

"Oh,", his mother replies. "Why?"

The Godson looks her in the eye and says: "We've been learning about witches in school, and how they were ducked in ponds.

"The people doing the ducking were Christians...if that's what Christians do, I'm not a Christian."

Oh how I'm cheering inside. The kid has that strong, innate sense of fair play with which all kids are born, and which you offend at your peril.

And, I tell his mother, she must be doing something right if her son thinks ducking women into ponds is a bad thing.

She tells him that being a Christian involves more than just ducking people in ponds, and he goes away to have a think.

There are lots of things to think about. Fresh minefields to traverse every day.

Here's one of them.

We've somewhat moved on from the days when the Godson bemoaned the giggling and whispering of girls.

Now, there are other moral dilemmas with which his parents have to deal.

And one of them is how much kissing is acceptable on television.

"I can watch kissing now," he says.

That is not to say, he quickly points out, that he wants to be doing any of it.

Or that he wants to watch much of it. And everyone involved needs to be fully clothed - that is high on his agenda.

Thorny subject, kissing, girls.

Godson is quite happy to hang out with girls, involve them in games of Skylanders and has girl friends.

But he is appalled at the behaviour of one of his male pals.

"He went on a 'date' with a girl," he says.

"And they ended up KISSING!"

He pulls a face akin to one used on finding sour milk in the fridge.

"And she's not very nice..."

His mother beams.

"Do yo want to kiss girls?" she asks him.

"Nooooooo!"

Godson's Mother is a happy woman. She would gladly lock him up until his 30th birthday, and I pity any girl he brings home for the first time.

Anyway, for the moment, there are more important things to worry about like scout badges, school rugby, ninjas, and the password to his 'fort' in the garden.