Are today’s children overindulged?

I AGREE with Prue Leith (Mail) that today’s children are overindulged. Yet it’s not them, but the parents who have no control over them who are to blame. Because there are no boundaries, children have become self-centred, and because many mothers work, most meals are from the freezer. Going to bed at a set time has gone out of the window since iPads, tablets and Xboxes have taken over. It is not unusual for 11-year-olds or younger to still be using their gadgets at 10pm. For Christmas and birthday presents, a long list of what is wanted is presented. Parents then rush around to ensure their children receive most of them. When I was a child (at roughly the same time as Prue), mothers stayed at home and cooked a family meal that everyone sat down to eat at a dining table — not off their lap in front of the television set. If you didn’t like what was served up, you went hungry. At Christmas and birthdays you received only a few presents, often some lovingly made by parents or grandparents. Bedtime was non-negotiable. Bring back the old ways!

BarBara JohnSon, Swansea. I FOUND Prue Leith’s comments offensive to parents and grandparents. I have looked after my grandsons since they were tiny and I’ve always given them choices. ‘What shall we do today? What would you like to eat? Which children’s programmes do you want to watch?’ the days are gone when you ‘eat what you are given or do without’ or ‘children should be seen and not heard’. times were hard when we were young after the war and living conditions were poor for some. We should be celebrating children’s independence and the choices that they can enjoy today. JaneT hanCoCk, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.