WE are constantly trying to hide knowledge from our ever brighter children. Understandably, many parents are unhappy about teaching very young children about sex on the grounds that it is too early and makes them precocious and too aware.

We shield them, too, from the real horrors of life. Not too much detail about wars, murders, child cruelty or even paedophiles -- although we all tackle this one in our own ways and usually end up, inadvertently, terrifying them.

Sometimes, though, honest knowledge is necessary, and it pays off. At just six years of age, Leonie Wroe knew that her 53 year-old grandmother Mrs Christine Wroe was a diabetic.

The family had obviously talked about it and Leonie, who looks like an inquiring little lass, understood what this meant and the potential danger to her beloved grandma.

So, when Mrs Wroe fell into a diabetic coma, Leonie had no hesitation in dialling 999 to get help. She even ran downstairs to get her gran a chocolate bar and a sugary drink because she understood that this would help.

When paramedics arrived and tried to get into the house, Leoni was too small to reach the lock. The youngster told them where the spare key was, and also the whereabouts of her grandma's insulin injections.

Thankfully, Mrs Wroe recovered well, and is very proud of her grand-daughter. "Leonie is a brave and thoughtful little girl and she definitely deserves an award," she stated. She certainly does.

But her family also deserve praise for the way they are bringing up Leoni. They must have long since taken the decision to be honest and straightforward about the matter. And, rather than dismissing it with something like "grandma's got a bit of a poorly tummy today", they took the trouble to explain the diabetes and its effects simply and sensibly.

This situation also plainly demonstrates the importance of discussing with every member of the family any problems that may affect them.