I WAS astonished to learn that an increasing number of children are starting school in nappies because they have not been potty trained.

Even more astonishing is the fact that Amanda Jenner, a Bournemouth mother of three, who started a 'Potty-Training Academy' where, for a fee of £2,000, she guarantees to potty-train a child within a week.

And despite her exorbitant fees, she has been inundated with calls from desperate parents!

If parents are incapable of potting-training their children - they shouldn't be having children in the first place.

What a sad comment on present-day parenting (or, perhaps more appropriately, lack thereof).

I have five great nephews and nieces - all of whom were fully potty-trained long before starting nursery school - and it didn't cost their parents £10,000!

Robert Readman

Norwich Avenue West, Bournemouth