MINE had a moving Sindy doll leg that flickered magically in time with the second hand.

Getting your first watch was a rite of passage when I was young. The very presence of it on your wrist marked an important transition from playgroup to primary, like riding a bike.

Time moves fast, though. According to research, more than one in three children aged between four and eight are unable to read a traditional analogue clock.

As the world has become increasingly digitised, and parents more time pressed, mobile phones have become the equivalent of the modern sundial.

What's the time Mr Wolf? has become a distant nightmare.

A colleague told me recently about an adult-sized reality television star who was promoting something or other in Glasgow. She complimented him on the pricey timepiece, while inquiring about the hour. He thanked her politely and confessed he couldn't read it, without a hint of embarrassment.

It puts me in mind of a well-known and hilarious sketch from legendary comic Dave Allan about teaching your child to tell the time. (If you haven't seen it, take five minutes out of your life to watch it on YouTube right now.)

Dave takes on the dual role of the clueless but astute offspring and the parent who becomes increasingly agitated as he tries to explain the seemingly simple concept of time. Delivered with his trademark comic timing, of course.

Cue much hilarity as he explains how there are 24 hours in the day but that includes the night.

That the second hand of a clock is the minute hand and the third hand is the second hand. Adding to the confusion is the fact that one is five, two is 10 and four is 20 and it's "hours not ours".

In the end, the exasperated dad wraps it up saying: "Now you be a good boy and learn to read the clock and I'll buy you a digital watch."

It makes me wonder how my own parents fared.

What I do remember is the utter confusion of clocks and watches with no numbers. Was time now to be approximated?

They may keep track of the time but they do an appalling job of communicating it as far as I'm concerned.

The question: "What time is it?" should not be a conundrum unless you are under five or a certain reality television star.

caroline Wilson Numbers game

on ...