BRIAN Beacom appears to be nostalgic for the days of the Provident Cheque and the application of the sturdy black plimsoll for punishment purposes, since replaced by the "naughty step" ("We fail to understand how failure makes us successful, The Herald, September 13).

How life has changed for young children compared with the days described by him as lived by those who grew up in the second half of the 20th century. Travels in recent years by air have opened my eyes to what, at least for me, is a new social phenomenon. That is the fact that more and more of couples of twenties and thirties in age apply the maxim – the children, no matter how young, come too regardless. The other travellers, in their unnatural and restricted space thousands of feet in the air, are expected to share the experiences of others travelling with their young children.

These experiences can be varied and at times fall short of the essence of enjoyment. They can include, for example, screaming and shouting, walking up and down the aisle, and those who paid more for extra legroom at the exits can find themselves being expected to be delighted when the area is turned into a play area. It can be frustrating when one’s anticipation of a peaceful sleep on the journey or a quiet read is set at nought by the ululations of a restless babe or by the activities of an upset or restless toddler.

Why should it be that this clear change in behaviour is taking place? For generations parents, even when they could afford it, did not think it appropriate to take really young children abroad on holiday, particularly to warmer climates, because the child was unlikely to get much out of it and may in fact suffer from the heat. Clearly money now has something to do with it, with many young couples both working and being able to afford such travel. It is more than that in my view. It is also a question of what is seen now as rights. Many young parents are of the view that they are entitled to take their children wherever they like and others can just put up with it. You can see the same behaviour in restaurants. I remember the occasion when a man quietly requested a mother to stop her young child kicking the back of his seat on the plane. He was told to "shut his cake hole".

There may be those who will say "bah, humbug" to all of this. However, the trend to which I have referred is, I believe, likely to increase rather than abate. Count the number of prams coming on to the carousal at the airport. If I am right, travelling by air is set to become more challenging and less enjoyable for those unaccompanied by pre-school progeny.

Ian W Thomson,

38 Kirkintilloch Road, Lenzie.

BELONGING to the pre-baby boomer generation and with most of my primary education during wartime I don’t recognise the harsh landscape and the emphasis on ever-present failure described by Brian Beacom as a baby boomer.

Certainly we endured knocks, our ups-and-downs, but growing up was optimistic and life was still good.

Nor do I recognize the categorisation of this so-called Snowflake Generation.

My grandchildren are better informed, more rounded and confident than ever I was at their respective ages.

I expect many grandparents will make the same assessment, but where there are shortcomings should the buck should stop with the successful baby boomers?

R Russell Smith,

96 Milton Road, Kilbirnie.

THERE will be few (if any) north of Hadrian’s Wall who would disagree with the sentiments contained within Brian Beacom’s somewhat Panglossian pipedream that “it would be nice to see Scotland win two games in a row". However mighty oaks from little acorns grow – and perhaps a more realistic first step towards achieving the consecutive two-game Holy Grail would be the successful completion by Scotland of two consecutive passes during the course of one game.

Alastair Patrick,

3 Pentland Crescent, Paisley.