I have a good friend who has a similar condition. She was born with her forearm missing and only vestigial fingers. When she was younger her parents forced her to wear a prosthetic arm - thus necessitating the removal of the fingers - which she hated. Since her late teens, she has refused to wear the prosthetic, saying that if people can't accept that's who she is, then they're not worth knowing. She works with children in our local primary school and not once has any child or parent made a complaint.

The problem here is with the narrowmindedness of the parents who cannot be bothered to explain to their children that the lady on the telly is perfectly well, doesn't hurt and is not frightening in any way. Frankly, having seen some of the mindless tripe and tat that CBeebies has produced over the last few years, I'd be more worried that my child was having nightmares over that!

A quick think tells me that there are/have been only a few 'differently abled' presenters or actors on TV, and at least 3 of them were in children's programmes or presenting children's shows. ('Big Ron' - dwarf in 'Maid Marion and her Merry Men'; the wheelchair using presenter of CBBC and sometimes 'Blue Peter' whose name escapes me; 'Rachel Burns', a character in 'Grange Hill' with cerebral palsy, actress Francesca Martinez, a cerebral palsy patient) although there is presently airing a fictional programme about a wheelchair basketball team, which I've not seen.

Children often have a much more 'down to earth' approach to disabilities that should be encouraged and supported, rather than the object of their curiosity be hidden away and shamed.

Good luck to this presenter, may she be just one in a long line of normal people to educate our children.

LTS