TEACHERS would love to tell parents to wash their children, stop doing their homework for them and attend parents evenings, according to new research.

The survey, for Reader's Digest magazine, highlights the things teachers would say to parents if they could get away with it.

Eighty percent said they wished they could openly say: "Your child is so disruptive I shouldn't be expected to teach him."

The same number wanted to ask why they should give up their free time when parents could not be bothered to turn up to parents' evening.

Of the 527 teachers questioned, 92% also said they would love to speak up with: "When I was a child if I did badly my parents blamed me, not the teachers. Your child has to do some of the work."

Teachers also think parents overestimate their child's intelligence, with 83% wanting to say: "You're not realistic about your child's abilities."

Homework

Almost 60% wish they could tell parents they enjoy reading their essays, but it is the child they are trying to teach.

Copying information from the internet also got the thumbs down, with 87% wanting to say: "Helping your child with homework doesn't mean letting him lift it straight off the internet."

Smelly students came in for a roasting, with 77% of teachers urging parents: "Please get your child to wash before school."

Nearly three quarters of teachers, 74%, also think children suffer from a lack of attention at home.

And almost half, 44%, are sceptical about the abilities of their colleagues, wishing they could tell parents: "Get real - some teachers are just not up to the job."

Other candid comments uncovered in the survey included: "Your child's performance in PE is so low because he is so fat", "Please don't get divorced or have an affair as this has a disastrous effect on your child's emotional well-being and ability to communicate", and "If you had taught your child some manners and respect, my job would be 10 times easier."

A spokeswoman for the National Union of Teachers said: "Support from parents is fundamental to young people achieving at school.

"Crucial to every child's education is good behaviour and good discipline.

"The poor behaviour of one child undermines the education of every other child in the class." Tweet