PA
Almost half of the British public think kids are violent and behave like animals, according to the shocking and sad results of a survey by Barnardo's.
More than 2,000 people were questioned about children's behaviour by ICM Research, and nearly half - 44 of people thought kids are beginning to behave like animals, whilst nearly 47% thought youngsters were angry, violent and abusive. One in four respondents thought those children who did behave badly were beyond help by the age of 10.
Anne Marie Carrie, the chief executive of Barnado's, said the findings were "depressing" and asked: "What hope is there for childhood in the UK today if this is how adults think?
"We seem to have forgotten the fact that most children are well behaved and instead we are unquestionably accepting a stereotype of young people as criminal and revolting.
"We aren't asking people to put up with yobbish behaviour, but we do need to change our attitudes towards troubled children.".
Natasha Cripps, a Barnardo's volunteer project worker who commissioned the research, said the word "feral" indicated a complete desertion of young people. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live she said: "To call them feral means 'right that's it, I've given up' and I don't think you can ever give up on children.
"It's a real shame people are so dismissive of them now, and to use that word feral it's really quite scary."
What do you think?
Do you think people are demonising children?