Children are turning into "little buddhas" claims a union leader

Middle class children are turning into "little Buddhas" as parents indulge their offspring and wait on them hand and foot, a teachers' union leader warned.

Parents need to learn how to say no to their children as spoilt pupils had "disproportionate" consequences at school, it was claimed.

The comments were made by Dr Mary Bousted at the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL).

The union's general secretary added she blamed poor parenting.

"Children without boundaries at home resent boundaries imposed at school. How many parents ask their children regularly to contribute to the running of the house?

"Far too many children are waited on at home hand and foot. We are not doing them any favours if we make them into little Buddhas at home.

"And it certainly doesn't do them any favours in school."

Have you brought your baby up like a buddha?

The warning follows a proposal made by one ATL member suggesting schools need behaviour sanctions to rival corporal punishment, as current methods such as detention and exclusion fail to deal with the issue.

Other potential solutions include military-style cadet forces being introduced to all secondary schools, a move which education secretary Michael Gove claimed would boost standards and discipline.

In October last year the Centre for Policy Studies announced a free school staffed entirely by ex-servicemen would be established in Greater Manchester, which is due to open its doors in September 2012.