Hi John
I dont think anyone thought you were having ago,we post on here our opinions thats all,and we are all entitled to do that.
If the children are  staying at school till they are 18 does that mean they will come out with their `A` levels ?
I stopped watching Corrie when Sarah had a child at 13,I dont think that should have been allowed other kids think its ok then.
Joe got it right to a point she said the children dictate nowadays ! but of course there are exceptions.

Yes Phoenix I bet you do so do I

Joe !!!! Afraid is a terrible word, and I apprieciate the way that you have used it. But I was and have never ever been afraid of anybody, what I have been though is careful of different adults as I grew up.

For example my Father tried to scare the crap out of me by beating me with his leather belt, yes I dreaded it but I was never frightened of him, and at the end of the day he and I had a confrontation that was to change both our lives, at the age of 15 I was a fit lad, Dad was in those days concidered to be over the hill at 49, the confrontation came to blows and I hit my Father in retaliation, I knew it was time to leave the nest that he had furnished me, and I had to build my own nest in life.

I have never been able to settle down in any one place for more than a few years, but when I lay my hat down somewhere I make it as comfortable as I can, I think now though Marcia has tamed me. I hope my Children arnt frightened of me, but with the same token I hope I have taught them to respect the fact that there are others in the world better off than us, and there are people less fortunate than us, but we must respect everybody.

Sorry hear abput your dad and the belt,we too got the belt !but not very often.It was a deterant though and kept us all in line.It was the only way they knew how to deal with things in them days.

Yes I suppose what my Father went through in the WW2 made him the tough guy, but it was his Service and that of many many other men that made them that way toward their Children. It is only recently that I have been able to put my leather belt through the loops on my trousers in front of my Children, I always went to the bedroom to do it before, must have been a subconcious thing from my childhood.

I have noticed in my local area that the youth has decided that they have prority on their bikes on the pavement. It was only the otherday that one nearly knocked me over, it was really funny to see him bounce off my arm and land up sprawled all over a rubbish bin. But as I walked past he was swearing and calling me an old B*"^*"d, I stopped and told him that his education was up to date, it was a pity his road skills were a little worse. More swearing followed but I think that was because there was a crowd gathered and were all saying the same sort of thing.