And the Consequence was...

End of term arrived and, as I well remember, brought a sigh of relief from pupils and a sharp intake of breath for parents as they brace themselves for the long summer holidays.

At least that is the accepted view. Personally, when they were children, I always enjoyed my offspring's company and was often surprised that the holidays were not long enough to fit in all the little projects which we had hoped to do. I like to think that the time that my husband and I spent with our children over the years has encouraged them to be good members of society and to consider others in all things.

In a previous article, I referred to the prevalence of selfishness which characterises our society. Perhaps, if we all took a moment occasionally to consider the consequences of our actions '“ a bit like taking a quick risk assessment '“ some of the need for harsh laws might be avoided. Of course it is incredibly optimistic on my part to think that we might reduce the need for more prison places in this way but we could start at a level nearer to home. In fact we could turn it into one of those games to play with children on long journeys or wet boring afternoons when they want to play outside. I seem to recall that there was a party game called consequences. Here is my new shortened version: