When I was a kid admittedly over half a century ago, childhood, despite school, was a time of wonder and enjoyment.

This 'age of youth' in all honesty really extended into our quite late teens as we neither wanted nor expected to take on the mantle of adulthood until we were often as old as 18 or 19.

Over the years however, despite the plaintive whinnying and self aggrandisement of successive governments about returns to Victorian values and bringing childhood back what have we seen?

An almost determined undermining of anything that conveyed the true old time tenets of childhood.

Firstly we had the removal of competitive sports and suchlike lest they made the child feel a failure. Failure is an adult concept ! If a child comes second he will either be content with that or will want to do better and beat his mate next time. We didn't need the government laying down a decree stating that competition is wrong on the one hand and then introducing the farcical and soul destroying SATS tests on the other.

We got the PC brigade deciding that the act of police coming into school to give talks on road safety, crime and being generally visible was no longer acceptable and tantamount to a police state. Strange that school crime has risen, strange that road accidents have risen all since the PC brigade got their macrobiotic teeth into things that really didn't concern them.

To briefly digress there once a Perisher's cartoon showing baby Grumplin' walking along talking to Gladly-mi-cross-eyed-bear about how his dad had just spanked him for flicking porridge about. He goes on to say that Johnny Wilson's parents don't spank him because they think it's wrong to chastise a child. His final line which is oh so true is "Why can't I have idiots for parents?"

However to continue. Over the years more and more 'childhood' has been removed by the powers that be and the knee jerk reactions of the holier-than-thou few in local and ministerial governments.

And am I wrong to suspect that it's all for no more reason than to put the government and it's lackys in control of our lives from cradle to grave?

And now we are to have sex education for the under fives.

What on earth are these mindless morons playing at?

The under fives should be learning to play and have fun with each other without having to concern themselves that Johnny has got bits to his body that Susan hasn't and that these bits in many years time (a life time to a 5 year old) will allow them to perform something which I suspect to a child, looks like some bizarre fight.

And they are going to be taught about relationships. Hells bells! I'm pushing 60 and I don't understand relationships and I' bl**dy sure I never will.

Get a grip you idiot politicians - life is NOT a series of lectures by self appointed social do-gooders with degrees from American universities.

The schools minister , someone called Jim Knight, will unveil the full plans next week. He insists in that way that only the 'pig ignorant of reality' can that sex and relationships education 'before puberty' can help bring down teenage pregnancy rates.

Hello? Earth to idiot Knight. The UK has the HIGHEST teenage pregnancy rate in the whole of Europe. Why on earth do you believe (if you truly do) that giving young children an insight into the potential "toy's between their legs" is going to make them any less interested in playing with them and more inclined to be careful.

I tell you I am floundering in a sea of disbelief at just where and how our successive governments arrive at these moronic decisions which may, and in all probability will destroy the entire lives of the next generations.

Childhood was once the property of the child and, to a degree, it's parents. Their job was to protect and educate. And whilst I agree that many parents are seemingly totally bereft of even the basic ideas of parenting, perhaps the government should realise that this was THEIR doing with year upon year of destructive parenting, education and childhood-based legislation.

I weep for the next generations and am glad that I won't be here in 50 years time to see what a complete dog's armpit has been made of it all.