Family Focus: Pushover parents?

Are your children spoilt? Do you give in to pester power? Do your children know how to play the "guilt card" to get their own way?

These are the issues examined on this week's Family Focus.

Sarah Travers speaks to psychologist Dr Aric Sigman, who says that "pushover parents" are far too ready to cave in to their children's demands.

Dr Sigman, a father-of-four says this is giving young people a false impression of their own importance and contributing to anti-social behaviour.

His thought-provoking book, The Spoilt Generation, examines the link between indiscipline in children and the erosion of adult authority in their lives.

"There is a crisis in parenting," he says.

"Parents have lost the ability to exert authority with their children, and with that comes many of the social problems we see on the streets and in school classrooms today.

Family Focus asks if we are spoiling our children too much.

"It's not unusual to hear parents being almost apologetic for having to say no, but this is not helping our children.

"If we as parents are not laying down clear boundaries, it is our own fault if they develop a sense of entitlement and have us dancing to their tune. "

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