Dear Teacher,

I am writing to you in desperation at the way you are treating Chelsea in school. She is distraught and has eaten nothing but a couple of mini Mars bars and a tub of Pringles since morning. She refuses to go back to school and I refuse to force her to do what she doesn't want to do. It has to be harmful for her.

It appears to be rooted in this obsession that your school has with learning spellings. Five of them every night. Five! Now I'm very pro-education, as you are aware from the self-awareness seminars I have been attending recently, but there is a limit to what one child can be expected to take in. By the time she gets in from school and has her dinner and watches a small bit of TV it is 9 p.m. And hardly a half-hour for her PlayStation in between. I find the idea of marking them publicly with an X the next day very offensive.

Her self-esteem is suffering badly from all this. She has got her weight well down with only another couple of stone to go and this has set her back seriously. I have video-taped Chelsea venting her anger at you and perhaps you, Chelsea, her rage therapist and I could watch it together soon. There are definitely issues there.

Both Chelsea and India will be out of school on Wednesday next as they have Tae Kwon Do exams in Dublin. Please arrange to have their homework prepared with them in advance, as I will be picking them up early on Tuesday. We are going to pick up our new car. (It's a 5-series BMW as we found the terrain a little bumpy in the four wheel drive with India's delicate tummy.) Could you pass the message on to the infants' teacher that Keanu will be staying until 3 p.m. as we won't be back in time to pick him up at 2 p.m. Perhaps if she is staying on to correct copies or something she can mind him for a while longer as we might be late. He has his mobile with him at all times anyway.

I am a little concerned at this policy that the school is pushing in regard to designer labels. I can't understand the problem as all my children are wearing is minor labels from the sportswear ranges. Of course I wouldn't let them wear their good clothes to school. Their Ralph Lauren Junior is for occasions only and they accept that.

I won't be attending the PT meetings next week as my partner is taking me away shopping in Warsaw (it's the new Paris!). But do work on the spelling problem.

Regards,

A Mom