 News
28th March 2007
Parents must say no
Parents must have the courage to say no to children who eat too much
or misbehave, says David Cameron.
The Conservative leader was speaking as the Tories launched an inquiry
into the quality of childhood in the UK following a Unicef report claiming
that children in the UK have the worst quality of life in the developed
world.
The Tory leader said those parents who turned a blind eye to 'harmful'
behaviour because they wanted a 'quiet life' were 'grossly selfish and
irresponsible'.
"Being a good parent isn't just a gift to your child but to the whole
of society," he said.
"If children are misbehaving, we should say something.
"If we're met by a volley of abuse then other adults have a duty to intervene.
We don't want to live in a walk-on-by society."
The inquiry, chaired by David Willetts, Conservative education spokesman,
will look for ways to strengthen the family, improve schools, encourage
more flexible working and alleviate child poverty.
It will also look at whether "stranger danger" warnings have become too
extreme, how young people can be protected from advertising and whether
boys face particular problems.
Promising a blitz on health and safety regulations which forced schools
to give up activities like outdoor trips, Mr Cameron said, "Children need
to be protected to a reasonable degree, but our society has gone too far
with rules and regulations that sometimes come close to paranoia."
The father of three young children also admitted that bringing up children
was far harder than their professional work but added that the greatest
responsibility for children's development lay with their parents, who
must be granted the authority to teach them how to behave.
Mr Cameron said the Unicef report was "a serious wake-up call", revealing
that Britain had the "unhappiest and loneliest children" in the developed
world.
However, children's Minister Beverley Hughes said, "From yet another
vacuous policy group to stating the blindingly obvious, that parents should
discipline their children, David Cameron seems completely incapable of
getting to grips with the challenges today's families are facing."
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