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what to do. Parents need to have courage in their convictions and take the advice that’s appropriate to them rather than just looking at it in black and white and seeing it as an order. I think the Government gets a tough time because if they didn’t give us any guidelines they’d be criticised for not caring.” Are schools wrapping our children in cotton wool? Susan: “In my job I regularly come across students who have gained A levels and yet are unable to write coherent sentences – and my personal viewpoint is that schools are being far too lenient. For eight months my daughter’s English spelling mistakes weren’t corrected at all and when I quizzed the school they said they didn’t correct them anymore because children had to work it out for themselves. But they don’t work it out for themselves, so they end up not being able to write properly!” Pam: “But when teachers are strict, a lot of parents aren’t happy. Years
about the lack of decision making their parents allow them**
eight children are unhappy
One in
ago kids were never allowed to take their mobile phones into schools, and if they did they had them confiscated. But now if that happens some parents will go into the school and complain that their child has been deprived of their rights.” Susan: “There’s just a massive lack of common sense all round. On my eldest son’s sports day
there weren’t any winners because
the State now thinks children should learn that it’s
the taking part that counts. When schools look at Government guidelines and then adopt blanket policies rather than applying common sense, it becomes very frustrating if it conflicts with your parenting style.” Sharon: “Not all schools do that. At my children’s sports day there was a winning team. If your school isn’t doing the things you’d like, you should get on the governing body and lobby for it to change.” Susan: “That’s easy to say, but you can’t always do that if you’ve
got a full-time job to factor in as well and time is stretched.” What do you think will be the long-term effect of cotton wool parenting on society? Susan: “I think it will create a generation of adults who struggle to be independent and cope with difficulties when they grow up.” Pam: “I think it could lead to people being more rebellious. If someone has been overprotected as a child, they might be more likely to take risks and act recklessly when they have freedom as an adult.” Sharon: “The way you’re brought up does affect you, but so does your school, your friends and where you end up working. So even if there is an increase in cotton wool parenting, I don’t think we’ll see a noticeable change in society – there are too many other influences to consider.”
Photography Claire Wood Hair and make-up Tally Bookbinder assisted by Erika Swinn *Research carried out by LV=Streetwise **Research carried out by The Children’s Society
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