Parents have a responsibility to say "no" if their children are misbehaving or overeating, Conservative leader David Cameron has said.
And he said that other adults have a duty to step in if they see youngsters behaving badly - even if they are met by a volley of abuse. Mr Cameron was speaking as the Tories launched an inquiry into the quality of childhood in the UK, in the wake of a Unicef report naming Britain the worst country in the developed world in which to grow up.
The inquiry, chaired by shadow education secretary David Willetts, will look for ways to strengthen the family, improve schools, encourage more flexible working and alleviate child poverty.
It will try to cut the health and safety "red tape on childhood" which Mr Willetts said was preventing young people enjoying "vivid lives and everyday adventures".
It will ask whether "stranger danger" warnings have become too extreme, how young people can be protected from advertising and whether boys face particular problems. And it will aim to revive the authority of parents and other adults to ensure that children respect moral and social boundaries.
Launching the inquiry in Manchester, Mr Cameron will say that the Conservatives stand for "social revival" and "social responsibility".
He will call on business to recognise its responsibility not to harm young people with violent video games or sexualised children's clothes. But he will steer clear of threatening to ban them, saying a Tory administration would "regulate only where strictly necessary".
He will promise a "blitz" on health and safety regulations which force schools to give up activities like outdoor trips.
"Children need to be protected to a reasonable degree, but our society has gone too far with rules and regulations that sometimes come close to paranoia," he will say.
But he will stress that the greatest responsibility for children's development lies with their parents, who must be granted the authority to teach them how to behave.
