As far as the computer goes, my children started at that sort of age with a program called "Fun school" but we would not have thought of getting them their own computer. I persoanlly feel that buying children very expensive things for birthdays and Christmases gives them the wrong messages. Especially since a lot of it is more to "Keep up with the Joneses" than anything else.

GUEST, I don't believe I was sneering. Hard for me to teach by example as I had no children with me.

Villan, I don'd in any way believe this child had Autism or any of the other related conditions. As I said, he wasn't really being naughty, just normal (and bored). Would the child being autistic have made it ok for the father to threaten him with a nurse and a big stick?

I have to say that the parents weren't getting wound up or angry. The threats were made in a perfectly conversational tone of voice. It's not that they'd tried to make him behave and been ignored or anything

Love Lynne