UK Teachers Blame Parents for Bratty Kids

UK teachers complain that classrooms are getting tougher to control because kids throw more tantrums—and parents are to blame, the Daily Telegraph reports. A Cambridge University study says that parents are letting children indulge in video games, junk food, and TV. "Teachers described highly permissive parents who admitted to indulging their children, often for the sake of peace or simply because they had run out of alternative incentives or sanctions," the report said.

The study blames a "small but significant" number of parents for completely failing to control their children. Teachers found elementary school pupils who were unable to talk properly or use a knife and fork, although some had picked up another skill: "By the time they had come to school many children had become expert in manipulating adults," the study said. "Motivating them had become more difficult." (More education stories.)