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It does depend on the parents - I think my children are well behaved and they always get compliments from people how lovely and polite they are. They know right from wrong already (aged 6 and 4) and I talk to them when they act inappropriately to explain that that behaviour is not good... they don't hear swearing and are rarely shouted at.

However, as a teacher I see some terrible examples of parenting. At one parents eve, I was telling a parent that her child was often rude and inclined to laze about and she just said to me' give her a clout then' and the child looked terrified.

I once asked a pupil why he swore so much and acted like he did and he looked at me in amazement and said 'well that is how my mum and dad speak to me at home so why not?'

I know what you mean ,Milly...have to say am always AMAZED when others compliment my kids as I dont always(often) think they are that good...but they DO get asked back to other's houses et al...so I suppose they behave for others....

As for the most OUTRAGEOUS behaviour from a parent...
At a parents night and the parent of the yrs most evil kid is sitting there with her delightful fruit...I tell her he uses foul and abusive language in class and she turns to him and says 'You little s***!!!What have I told yer abaht swearing??Anyone would fink you 'ad foul marefed ****ing parents!!!!!!!!!!!!'

Some are just unreal aren't they. Speaking of parents evenings, my own mum was the worst I've ever seen. I was getting all sorts of praise from all my teachers but she'd been drinking before it and she was absolutely plastered when seeing all of them, I ended up running off wanting to die of embarassment!

OMG!!!I've had drunk parents too...but mostly they just wouldnt SHUT UP!!!!
I have seen some funny sights.Mainly it's working mums on a massive guilt trip who insist on making a real show of how attentive they are to their kids by touching them,etc.One mum had her 10 yr old son on her lap.Funny how the next day she's blanking him in the shop when he was asking her a question.Oddly enough,for all the material benefits some of these kids they are often the most 'deprived' in many ways and certainly round these parts its these children that are behind most of the anti-social behaviour in the village

Fair point, same can be said round here but the kids do have the ability to not follow in the parents footsteps but rarely take it. One lad I know had the worst parents in the world, both on drugs and the living conditions were awful but he decided he didn't want to end up like that and is now in a highly paid job and a superb bloke.

We have a sad family(My middle dughter is friends with theirs and I was kind of dubious).The mum has 4 kids by different dads ,is constantly off her head and is now pregnant with a very dodgy dude's kid ..yet the little girl is the kindest,sweetest polite child.She knows shes different(Her clothes are all hand me downs...abd unwashed )..yet she tries to have some pride.Makes me want to weep really.

I know what you mean Pikey. Our dad is an alcoholic and our mum suffered with depression - as a direct result I guess. At her lowest points she said some terrible terrible things to us and even argued with my dad once about him going to the pub and said 'if you leave I will kill myself and both of the kids and you'll come back to 3 corpses' and he said 'so do it!' and slammed the door behind him. Me and my sister could hear them and just looked at each other when the door slammed - we were old enough to know what was about to happen and she held hands with both of us and tried to persuade us both to jump with her (off the top of the block of flats). We were both crying so much she relented and came inside with us (at 5 and 7 we were old enough to say no we don't want to). Anyway, point is my sister is now happily married with 4 kids and I'm happy with my bf so how you are raised doesn't necessarily have to impact on your adult life. That little girl will probably turn out fine so don't worry too much hon! All you can do is be a responsible adult who lets her know that if she ever needs to talk then you will listen, and watch out for bruises etc. Whenever my mum left my dad she would take my little brother with her but leave us behind bcz she couldn't take all three. Anyway my dad never bought food but when we got really hungry my best mates mum used to take us in and feed us, she was a Godsend so don't underestimate how useful you can be and how much you can help! She's lucky you care!

That must have been a terrible time for you,Molly Yet it's an inspiration to know that human spirit can overcome the most traumatic situations.Am glad you overcame everything to find happiness...

Aw, ty no worries Pikey! After reading 'A child called It' who could complain about anything really? Besides, my mum may have been depressed but if we needed her all we had to do was ask and she would do anything for us. She loves us and she always did. My dad loves us in his own way too. It's not like we were ever severely beaten or anything. Anyway, I think you're lovely to care so much about that child, even inviting her for tea or asking her how she is and listening would make her feel better about herself. You're a good person to care about her - these little things stay in your memory forever. you're a good person.

Yeah, some fathers can be right b******s, it sometimes the mothers that are the caring ones in the family.