The season of teachers' conferences is upon us, the time when their representatives grab headlines by saying what hell it is being a teacher. Given their timing, I would love to dismiss Bousted's words as grumblings designed purely to squeeze more sympathy and money out of the Government. It would boost my sense of being a force to be reckoned with if I could summon the self-righteousness to barge into Ms Bousted's office, grab her by the lapels and berate her (and her colleagues) for not doing a better job. But the awful thing is that I fear she is right. We parents – even those of us who don't have the excuse of being single or trapped in poverty – are handing schools a headache in the form of our adored, wilful little treasures.