Dear Nick,
I saw in your speech yesterday that you said it was possible for kids to have “No Excuses methods injected into them”. I’m a parent, and I can tell you – I need some of that stuff! Perhaps you could tell me where you get hold of it? You see, in our home, it’s all “I was just finishing my game” and “I didn’t mean to spill it”. The kids are always saying “It’s not my turn” and “I went first yesterday”. We get “She made me do it” and “It’s not that late”. And most regularly of all “I forgot”. So, as you can see, we’re in desperate need of whatever it is these people are injecting. If you could let us know where to get hold of that stuff we’d be grateful. It’s the weekend tomorrow, so if you could answer quickly that’d be great.
Many thanks,
Sue
Freeing the Angel 
Why do you let your children make such silly excuses? Anyway a home is not like a school where everyone has to be treated in the same just way. Breaking the rules must have predictable consequences and no-one can have a get out of gaol free card or the system ceases to work (actually, hence my objection to ‘allowing’ mercy killing as a reason not to be prosecuted for murder).
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Thanks for your comment. I’m going to assume from what you say that you or your children have never made an excuse when you have done something wrong, and that you have been punished every single time you break a rule. xx
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I didn’t say that excuses were not offered – but excuses are exactly that. School pupils saying ‘it’s not fair’ etc are not on a par with one’s own children. They cannot be allowed to get away with breaking rules. Every pupil must know that the rules apply to them and will be enforced justly, predictably and without favour – otherwise there is chaos. Incidently my baby brother tore up my homework once and I told my teacher so, but I was still punished, because it was an excuse, I could have used paper and done it.
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It seems to have stuck with you for many years as a negative memory, though, so I’m sorry to hear about that.
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