Lotion on the toys

As her mother entered the room, she was met with a surprising sight. All of her daughter's toys were covered in a thick layer of lotion, and the 3-year-old girl herself was beaming with a generous application of lotion on her face. She was holding a lotion bottle in her hands, clearly proud of the work she had done.

"Look, Mummy!" the little girl exclaimed. "Now all my toys have lotion on them too! They're all shiny and smart!"

Her mother stood silently for a moment, taking in the scene. She was clearly unhappy with what she saw.

"Do you know why we put lotion on your skin after a bath?" her mother asked gently.

The little girl shook her head, looking puzzled. "I don't know, Mummy. We always put it on after a bath, so I thought I'd put some on my toys too."

Her mother smiled patiently. "Sit down here, princess," she said, as she began to gather up the toys to clean off the lotion.

"After a bath, our skin can get really thirsty, which can make it very dry," the mother explained. "So lotion is like water for our skin. When we apply it, our skin stops being thirsty and becomes smooth and soft instead."

The little girl listened carefully as her mother continued. "We don't put lotion on toys. Do you know why?" she asked.

"No, Mummy," the little girl replied.

"Toys don't have skin like we do," the mother said, pointing to her own skin. "That is why when you put lotion on toys, it doesn't absorb like it does on your skin. Instead, it can damage your toys."

The little girl nodded, understanding. "I won't put lotion on my toys again."

Her mother smiled and hugged her. "That's right, sweetie. Lotion is just for our skin, not for our toys. Remember, using things the right way helps us take care of them and not waste them."