Clever as always, Miss Manners this week chides parents who neglect their "homework" of teaching children the ability to sit still for short periods of time, to listen to what other people say, and to refrain from hitting. She notes that, while many of these parents offer familiar excuses for not having done their homework - they had too much else to do, they had personal troubles, they didn't understand the assignment - many of these same parents are busy doing other people's homework: their children's!
"For parents, a demanding school assignment," by Judith Martin, The Washington Post, January 26, 2003