LETTER - Mark Haden asks for the answer to the problem of unruly children in our society who cannot be officially punished or sanctioned because they are too young.

The answer of course is elegant in its simplicity and its been discussed many times before – respect.

Parents need to act as role models for their children and teach them to respect other people and their property.

Instead, we have parents who are absolutely the worst role models their offspring could have, and others who will defend the actions of their children, even when they are obviously in the wrong.

In Mr Haden’s case the parents in question chose to hide behind the fact that his car shouldn’t have been on the pavement, ergo two wrongs make a right.

And of course there is the question of parents who refuse to allow anyone other than themselves to admonish their children for doing wrong; that’s if they even have the moral courage to do it themselves.

One of the many prime roles of a parent is to teach their children, in their formative years, how to behave, thereby installing in them the attitudes they will carry forward into their adult lives.

Too many have been getting this wrong and the result has been a decreasing spiral into selfishness and disrespect.

We can reverse this if we all play our part, so the question to all parents is: Next time your kids do something wrong will you have the moral fibre and courage to do the right thing, or will you try and weasel out of it like a coward?

J M Davis, Leegomery