IT IS to be hoped that politicians and society take note of the important letters from John McEwan and Ian Saint-Yves (July 15) about the problems we are facing with some of today's children. As a children's doctor, I have maintained that children must have love and leadership (care, education, training, loving discipline, good play) to grow up happy and successful.

IT IS to be hoped that politicians and society take note of the important letters from John McEwan and Ian Saint-Yves (July 15) about the problems we are facing with some of today's children. As a children's doctor, I have maintained that children must have love and leadership (care, education, training, loving discipline, good play) to grow up happy and successful.

Unfortunately, owing to poverty, bad parent habits and poor management, coupled with some unwise politically correct ideas, this is not happening for today's troubled infants. Mr McEwan is correct in saying that experienced teachers can predict troubled, potentially criminal children in primary one. This confirms that more effective attitudes of leadership by parents, health visitors, nurseries and schools are now required to care for today's young children who are tomorrow's teenagers.

For the present problem, there are now a minority of young persons lacking a caring start to their lives who are now a danger on our streets. Care needs to be given to them before they get life imprisonment for callously stabbing or beating strangers to death for no apparent reason. Instead of letting these disturbed young people with numerous convictions roam our streets, we need to be protected by noting the pattern of their early offences and isolating them from us as if they were a dangerous contagious disease and needed curing. There will need to be a new programme of funding suitable care and detention for them in purpose-built facilities in order for them to be rehabilitated and made fit to come back and live among us. There will be some who disagree and complain about staffing and the cost but the alternative, of criminal mayhem, is unacceptable.

Those who, despite serious effort, cannot be made safe must be isolated until they are too old to be a danger.

Donald J C Cameron, Fochabers