So, I don’t really know what the official protocol is when it comes to children’s birthday cakes. Are you supposed to make them yourself? Are you supposed to check for allergens with the parents of other children? Are we even meant to give our kids cake, now they we’re also supposed to encourage our kids to eat healthily?

If you love spending all day in the kitchen cooking up various culinary delights, then having the chance to bake a custom-made cake for your little-ones might be your idea of heaven. However, if you’re something of a reluctant cook, then chances are that this may not be the cake. In fact, if you’ve got, say, three children, who are all very much willing to eat birthday cake, then you could be looking at baking three cakes each year – perhaps more if they’re have a particularly large party too!

Why, then, does it seem like so many people think it is simply unacceptable the purchase a shop-bought cake. These are people who are more than willing buy ready-meals, or pre-prepared desserts – unless they’re a birthday cake. News flash folks, baking does not equal love. You might have taken the time to throw a few ingredients in a bowl and then played online Cheeky Bingo for half an hour while your cake sat in the oven, but there is certainly a lot more to good parenting than that. And, from what I can tell, a good proportion of the under-fives will be just as excited about gift -wrapping paper as they will about over-indulging in slices of cake.

So, then, are there any reasons not to opt for the shop-bought variety? Will your toddler always remember the time you used pre-made icing, and forgot to add candles? It seems unlikely, although many would still have you believe otherwise..