UK Parenting 2011

The recent revelations that some Pakistani men have been grooming young white girls for abuse seem to me to have prompted only half the questions they should have done. The focus has been on whether there is something about the British Pakistani culture that needs addressing. But nobody has raised the question of whether the British white culture that raises girls who are seen as easy targets should be questioned.

Then today we have reports of widespread grooming and abuse of children as young as 10, with the average aged down from 15 to 13.

The advice to parents from Ms Anne Marie Carrie, Barnardo's new chief executive, is that there are a few typical signs that parents should look out for.

"First of all, that children get gifts they couldn't possibly pay for on their own - they're given mobile phones and various things, they're taken out, they're treated [with] things.

"Secondly, that children begin to be a bit more quiet and secretive about their friends.

"And thirdly, that they have very suspicious sleep-overs. Suddenly, sleep-overs become more prevalent."

Should that even need saying? What are parents about if they need to be told this?

And what kind of a society is it that raises large numbers of people who get involved in arranging for the systematic rape of young girls?

In another story, it seems mums are lying about how they raise their children, rather than admit that they are not raising them as they, or other parents, think they should.

Is it me, or are these all signs of a society that has completely lost its way in terms of bringing up children?