PARENTING isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, which is sadly something you don’t realise until you have children of your own.

The endless round of nappy changing and feeds, followed by years of being a chauffeur and being on the receiving end of back chat that would make a shipyard welder blush.

We’ve all spent time lying awake at 4am waiting for your child to come home from a night-out and then being greeted by snots and tears on the doorstep after they lose their keys - again.

But most of us try our best for our children and try and steer them through life’s pitfalls.

It is a lifetime commitment after all and most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.

Most parents are decent but there are some who are genuinely bad and then there are the downright feckless.

How feckless has been laid bare in a shocking new report which found that almost half of parents believe it was not their responsibility to teach their children how to read books.

A similar number believe children do not need to know how to use books before they start school, with some trying to ‘swipe’ as if they were phones or tablets.

Even more disturbingly, 24 per cent did not think toilet training was essential for those starting school.

Some pupils are also failing to develop core strength because of excessive screen time and the “Covid baby” excuse is too frequently used, according to the findings.

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The annual school readiness survey by Kindred Squared, an early education charitable foundation, is based on focus groups and studies with more than 1,000 teachers and 1,000 parents of reception-aged children in England and Wales.

Children’s level of development........

© Herald Scotland