diff --git a/branca/element.py b/branca/element.py
index a1e005a..9b68033 100644
--- a/branca/element.py
+++ b/branca/element.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 import warnings
 from binascii import hexlify
 from collections import OrderedDict
+from copy import copy
 from html import escape
 from os import urandom
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -88,6 +89,14 @@ def __setstate__(self, state: dict):
 
         self.__dict__.update(state)
 
+    def clone(self):
+        """creates a new copy of an element, but with a unique identifier
+        and without the prior version's relationship to a parent object"""
+        clone = copy(self)
+        clone._id = hexlify(urandom(16)).decode()
+        clone._parent = None
+        return clone
+
     def get_name(self) -> str:
         """Returns a string representation of the object.
         This string has to be unique and to be a python and
@@ -142,7 +151,25 @@ def add_child(
         name: Optional[str] = None,
         index: Optional[int] = None,
     ) -> "Element":
-        """Add a child."""
+        """Add a child and modify the child with a pointer to its parent."""
+
+        if child._parent is not None:
+            warnings.warn(
+                f"""The code added\n {child.get_name()} as a child of
+                    {self.get_name()} which
+                    overwrote an existing pointer to a parent object, {child._parent.get_name()},
+                    but leaves the parent object pointing to the child.
+                    Branca is designed so each object will have no more than
+                    one parent.  Consider replacing the object with object.clone()
+                    so that each object has only one parent.  Otherwise, actions may
+                    fail.  For example, adding an icon object to a map
+                    only adds one valid icon to the map regardless of how many times
+                    the code adds that icon object.  This behavior is documented at:
+                    https://github.com/python-visualization/folium/issues/1885
+                    """,
+                category=UserWarning,
+                stacklevel=2,
+            )
         if name is None:
             name = child.get_name()
         if index is None: