I threatened my children with jail at the weekend.

They had dared to open a drawer under our bed, which they know full well is the place used to store things they are not supposed to see. Things like birthday and Christmas presents.

When I caught them in the act, they claimed to be looking for a friend's birthday present. I had put the gift in there, but they know that, whatever the circumstances, I am the only one with right of access.

So I threatened them with a string of punishments, including prison. But whereas in the past, they would have rolled back in their chairs and laughed in my face, this time, they sat up and took me seriously.

"Oh no, mum, you can't do that, you wouldn't," they wailed.

Their complete U-turn in responding to the threat might have had something to do with a story in the newspapers of a boy who was arrested and handcuffed for unwrapping a Christmas present.

The 12-year-old's mother reported him for taking a Game Boy from under the Christmas tree and he now faces court after being charged with theft.

Apparently the lad, who lives in America, had repeatedly disobeyed his mother and this incident was the final straw.

It is impossible, though, not to have sympathy for him. His mother is partly to blame for putting his Christmas presents out too early. They were under the tree from early December, meaning the poor lad had to suffer virtually a whole month of having to look at the parcels and resist temptation.

When I was young we would wait until a day or two before Christmas to put a selection of presents - those we had seen arrive in the post and therefore knew were not from Santa - under the tree.

Even so close to December 25, it was hard to stop feeling them, running my fingers over the wrapping and trying to peep under the paper seam on either side of the sticky tape.

It was a struggle to resist the temptation to rip a little bit of paper off the side, just enough to see what lay within.

I remember once, in my early teens, going to fetch some bandages from a wardrobe at my parents' house and coming across a polystyrene box. I couldn't resist a look inside. My heart raced when I found a cassette recorder, which I knew was my Christmas present.

But unless you live in a mansion, squirreling away presents in places where no man has gone before can be very difficult. I am stupid enough to have bought my daughter a bean bag for Christmas. It did not fit in the wardrobe, and would not go through the loft hatch, so it is now in the shed, where I hope it will not get damp.

So now the shed, as well as the drawer, is out of bounds. But not wanting to spend Christmas behind bars, I don't think they will be tempted.