Sevenoaks parents - take note of the riots

Much of the media coverage on the recent riots has centred on whether parents are to blame for not knowing - or caring - that their children, some as young as 11, were out taking part in the criminal madness suffered in many cities and towns.

This madness even reached Orpington and Bromley, so not that far away from us. But Sevenoaks parents will be telling themselves 'surely it couldn't happen in our own leafy suburb as we would never let OUR children do anything like that'.

Yet recent experiences seem to suggest some Sevenoaks parents do have a laissez faire attitude towards where their children are.

My daughters think my wife and I are old fashioned and embarrassing dinosaurs because when they ask if they can stay at a friend's house overnight, we always insist on calling their host's parents to make sure that this is OK with them and to thank them for their hospitality.

But we are often find these parents are bemused by why we have bothered to call.

Surely making contact is just common courtesy as well as making sure that our offspring are safe.

But when young girls stay with us, it is very rare that their parents call to find out where they are.

So Sevenoaks parents, ask yourself this question. If the apples of your eye say they are going to stay at someone's house, but in reality are going out with their mates on the streets to all hours, aren't they just one step away from being caught up in the mob violence and looting we have just witnessed?

The problem with a lot of parents these days is that they want to be 'friends' with their children first, and parents second.

In their eyes rules are made for everyone else because their children should be allowed to do anything they want. The parents think that will make them appear 'cool' to their kids..

These are the same parents that are afraid to discipline or 'ground' their children in case they think badly of them. So they try and hand over the responsibility for discipline to the schools. But when the schools try and punish these 'little angels' for doing something wrong by putting them in detention, the parents start bleating to the heads 'why are you picking on my baby?'.

Well listen to me you so called 'cool' parents. Children want parameters and boundaries as they go through their formative years. They want to know the difference between right and wrong. Without these boundaries they don't learn respect - and this is your fault not theirs - and are more likely to descend into the lawlessness we have just experienced.

At least the parents who turned in their own children after seeing them on television gives us all some hope that there are people still willing to defend the difference between right and wrong.