UK teachers report rise in problem parents

[Tabitha005]

Rude and disrespectful parents were a big issue when I worked in education ten years ago and, from this article, it seems to be an increasing concern.

Who’d be a teacher, eh? The shit they have to put up with is awful.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/mar/13/teachers-mental-heath-parents-behaviour-education

It was heartbreaking.

There have been some truly batshit threads on MN in the last few days which are the thin end of this wedge - the attitude of a lot of people about their children is stunning. Hats off to anyone who is a teacher.

Can’t help thinking that this works both ways. Parents have high and unrealistic expectations of teachers but teachers also have unrealistic expectations of parents. Parents are expected to help with teaching through homework, school projects, fund raising events etc etc. I would prefer a system whereby children went to school for X hours a day and didn’t have to think about it at all when they weren’t there. If parents only had to drop their children off and pick them up at the end of the day there might be less conflict. ( though it probably wouldn’t be totally eliminated.

Ah. You were being snotty.

When I'm on the internet and typing quickly—particularly when I'm using a phone—I've no doubt that I make errors. Mumsnet gives only a brief window in which to make corrections.

Those who live in glass houses (regardless of whether they've ever been teachers) should not throw stones.

Absolutely. You have their bratty kids then you meet the parents and you realise that it's a hopeless job.....glad to be out. Oh and parents who moan about teachers can I remind them we are not babysitters

Bloody everything. I couldn't take anymore.

@AmberLime - in my view, the parent who called you ‘a fucking bitch’ should now be banned from having any contact with you at all. Abuse like that is NEVER justified and more schools should be standing up for their staff MUCH more robustly than they do.

I don’t agree with that at all. In the UK at least I feel the expectation of parents is firstly to parent (which is occurring less and less) and secondly to take an interest in your child’s academic progress. Sometimes this includes listening to them read or looking at their homework with them. You are most certainly not doing a teachers job by doing this.

School is not a babysitting service, and you are still ultimately responsible for your children while they’re at school. I think about mine when they’re at school. I make sure school has the means to contact myself or their dad or a family member in case we’re needed for any reason. School doesn’t take over parenting for 6 hours a day.

I tend to agree with you about homework though—of course— children do need to study for exams and will need to engage in a certain amount of memorising of vocabulary and so on (particularly when they're taking foreign languages).

I've worked in schools were teaching staff were required to give a certain amount of homework in order to stop certain parents from complaining.

Elsewhere on these boards, I've commented that projects tackled at home tend to be the work of the parent rather than the child. I still cherish the memory of the child who won the "Design a house for The Wee Man" competition set by one of our teachers.

The winning entry—in a shoebox—included both a disco ball and a working, battery-operated light. The teacher became quite annoyed when I suggested that it wasn't the pupil's own work.

I've also deplored the fact that families are often expected to fundraise. I recall pleading in vain with a headteacher who insisted on asking children to donate items for a food bank. He was ignoring the fact that our school catchment was in an area with "Multiple Indicators of Deprivation".

No most parents want you to babysit, teach them every skill on this earth, take kids out for fancy holidays but ignore the class whilst you teach their kid exclusively to catch up because their holiday and child more important than anyone else.Expect you to take verbal abuse from both them and their kids. Change nappies (I exclude kids with medical issues). Look after their kids at end of the day because they are so busy at work(most teachers have 3 to 4 hours prep/ marking once your darlings are supposed to have left school
Sorry I read everyday on MN about the moans and disrespect. Teachers are getting out of teaching earlier and earlier.....guess why feral kids disrespectful parents. You parents need to get a grip

Name changed as potentially outing... But just this week, a parent from ANOTHER primary school has called out OUR primary school on social media for ... wait for it ... giving her child nits.

Apparently her child plays with a child from our school regularly and that child happens to have nits. She is currently slagging of OUR school for our allowing this child to continue having nits, not banning the child from our school until the nit problem is permanently resolve (we're not allowed to do that, obviously), and announcing that it our schools job to sort these parents whose children have nits out 😂

And, even more astounding, is the number of parents who threw in on the social media post to agree with her. That's it the school's fault for not (unlawfully) excluding her or 'mandating' (how that would work, who knows) that the parent follow a particular treatment regime. The mind boggles.

I had a mother who complained that I'd bullied her child (a senior pupil). There was a formal investigation.

I'd been covering the class in the absence of the regular teacher. Each pupil in the class was interviewed.

At the end of the process I was told that all the pupils had given the same story: nothing in particular had happened. The girl had kept talking whilst she was supposed to be working. Mrs Weary had told her to keep quiet.

It turned out that my telling the girl to be quiet was what she was complaining about.

The mother refused to accept the verdict: "My daughter always tells the truth."

"In that case," I told the Depute, "perhaps you'd care to let the mother know that the daughter informed her class that her is mother is 'a slut'?"

He left that well alone.

Ah yes. On another thread I told of what happened when one family went on a skiing holiday to Colorado before the Easter holidays. They then expected a member of my department to come in during the holidays in order to allow their eldest to catch up.

My partner is Indian and a teacher in a predominantly white area. The amount of racism he encounters from students is unreal. And the parents make excuses for their angels and kick off when they are excluded. It’s horrific.

The slide in behaviour and standards is our society is shocking. I have noticed this particularly in the last decade.

I am sure teachers have to put up with appalling behavior- but as a school governor and a member of society we have to be honest that not every teacher is good at their job, not every school lives up to its values and some parents concerns are justified.

there is always a danger in these debates that people assume the problem is everyone else law and they don’t hold up a mirror.

I had parents who complained about our French teachers for checks notes having a French accent. (At one point, we were in the happy position of having two native speakers in our department.)

I could have written this myself. It's depressing.

I have experience with mentees who have (usually divorcing) parents as an adjunct to their work with a child-client. The child's "problems" generally / often stem from problems within the parental relationship. Potentially, this can go back, like a hall of mirrors, if damaged co-dependents have found and married each other.

🤦‍♀️

I’ve definitely missed your point. I’m the poster. With which aspect of my English do you take exception?
Edit - I can see else’s. The 8 is obviously a typo. Anything else? Because those two are the vagaries of autocorrect. Sorry to disappoint.

I am a mortgage broker

I have had a client ring me 1pm mothers sunday and have also had calls from other clients on boxing day and 7pm new years eve. Didnt answer it but looked at it ringing thinking wtf

I know it's scary they think it's acceptable

We know kids learn that kind of deplorable language from parents. Kids are not born racist

If you go into any shop post office bank etc it says they will not tolerate their staff being abused but the public thinks it acceptable to be vile to teachers in their work place. I have been verbally and physically abused by children and parents. It's endemic in schools

I had one HT who told us that teachers should expect to be sworn at when at work...