Not since Dr Benjamin Spock has there been a male expert as influential in the field of parenting as Steve Biddulph. The Australian psychologist, whose book sales have topped the four million mark, has earned the right to be heeded.
This month he launched a strident attack on “pushy parents”. They were, he said, chiefly responsible for the epidemic of mental health problems afflicting teenage girls. These working mothers and fathers spend too little time at home. When they are there, it is not to unwind or have fun. Children are ‘‘over-scheduled’’; hurtling from ballet class to violin rehearsals. Or they are excessively ‘‘scholarised’’ – tutored to within an inch of their lives to pass exams and secure careers which amount to the only accepted measure of success.
