Parents are told children’s behavior has deteriorate in the last five years and we are all scratching our heads, well some of us are. Some of us including me have been constantly challenging change and even begging Government to stop. We understood why when surveyed our children were the unhappiest in the developed world, have seen them put under increasing pressure , pressure to do well or they will not get into the next school, do well or you will let the school down in the SATs, do well or we will fail our OFSTED , do well or you will not get to university then you will not get a job, another fairy story. We have allowed toddlers to be assessed and tested and then put in school almost before some of them can talk and are toilet trained. Places have been provided for babies a few weeks old in nurseries good as most are they are not home. Under 5′s are in mainstream school many going to pre-school clubs and stay to after-school clubs all supported if not provided by Government. We have continued to build four story flats, even in Poundbury where I live, children can never run outside the door to play for many the only free space is the playground and they then are wild, well what a surprise. Parents are targeted everyday Government knows best we are told what we should feed our children food is confiscated from small children if the school and government do not agree with it, children are frightened and upset. School meals are dictated all in the children’s best interest but often removing the one meal in the day they eat the best before becoming to tired and wound up to want to eat. Government pledged all homes will have Internet encouraged school to use IT and set home work on IT then complained we allow children to use computers at home to much. Children have rights of course they do but daily they are reminded stand up for yourself and complain if you do not like it, we said good but it was being done correctly they are children and need guidance to use the information , the powers that be have undermined parents at every stage of childhood I have heard many children say you smack me and I am telling and how many times have you experienced a small child in the main shopping street not allowed a toy flat on the floor screaming a small tap on the leg would probably make them understand no , but if we did we could be prosecuted. No one has coped with the incredible changes in lifestyle the Internet, mobile technology all taken on board by children no always understood by adults, we expect them to work it out define right from wrong they are aloud to read magazines which even shock an old mum like me , no parents cannot stop them others buy them and share them, we need to stop publishing them. Homework has become an obsession children often arrive home at 6 pm with one or two hours homework, four year old come home exhausted and they bring home reading books. Work is set for holidays “so they do not fall back and forget” we are told. The Jonathan Ross’s of this world and there are many including celebrity chefs who pronounce on school meals, probably unfair to single them out, have no regard for who is listening. Children are stressed I for one have seen this in my school travels they may look fine but almost without exception you only need to spend a little time talking about school/life and it all spills out. When we are stressed what happens we are not pleasant people to be around perhaps we do not literally kick and scream but we want to, a child has not developed that discipline and sadly neither have some parents. So lets get this right let us not spend all the Easter holiday telling parents, and remember the children are listening to this, what a useless job they are doing how bad they are and how disappointed teachers are tell it to Ed Balls and Jim Knight and to Gordon Brown he can fix the problems of the world time to get working on giving us back our children and giving the child back their childhood.