Change in behaviours???

One thing i have noticed during my career working with children is the change in behaviour, or is it childrens' behaviour that has changed? Yes unwanted behaviour is much more noticable in schools and even pre-schools but i feel we nedd to question why? Behaviour in children is as it has always been, it is a natural part of childrens' development and learning to hurt other children to get what they want, to answer back and to genrally push the boundaries.
So if it's not the behaviour that has changed or got worse is it the way teaching staff deal with their unwanted behaviour? In my experience the answer to that would be no. Teachers and people who work with children don't ignore the behaviour, they correct the children and punish them in an appropriate manner. Is it the change in the way teachers punish children now? we can all say 'a smack never done us any harm' and we would be just in saying that but years ago not every teacher smacked the back of your hand with a ruler or hit you with a slipper, there were teachers that didn't use physical punishments and still managed to get children to behave.
So why is it that unacceptable behaviour is more noticable now than it has ever been? After observing childrens' behaviours i feel there could be a couple of reasons why. 1, adults working with children need to  connect better with children and keep in mind they were children once. When i work with the children  at my school i make time to listen to what they have to say no matter how trivial it may seem, when they ask questions about me and things about me i answer them rather than saying something like ' i don't think that is anything to do with you, i'm an adult and you are a child'. I want them to feel they can talk to me about anything, i don't mean be their best friend and act like their school friends, but adults can be friends with children. This way i have found that when i need them to listen to me and behave, they respond  majority of the time. So one reason for noticable bad bahaviour could lie with the adults guiding them at school?
2, When working with children you also have to work as close as possible with the parents, this becomes an obstacle when parents don't back up the teaching staff. If the parents aren't behind the staff 100 per cent then there is no point the staff trying to correct unwanted behaviour. When i had told a parent how her child had refused to do his work, swore at me and hurt other children i expected a totally different response to what i got! The mother had a nervous giggle, from embarassment, and just said 'oh dear, better have a better day tomorrow' and took her child home. I was expecting her to have a cross face, tell him off, make him apologise and back me up by giving him a punishment of her own; such as grounding him! How can i or any other member of staff teach the children how to behave correctly if the parents don't give us their support. The children pick up on it straight away and automatically the respect is lost : children won't listen and do as they are asked if there isn't any respect. I, as a parent, haven't always agreed with the punishments teachers have given my children or why they have given them but i back them up every time so my children know they won't get away with bad behaviour. It is so fustrating when there is no back up from parents, it makes our line of work so much harder and there is no point teaching them how to behave at school. So please this is a plea to all parents ; please back up your teachers even if you don't agree at the time, you can always see the teacher about your grievance when your child isn't there.
So as far as i'm concerned children behave the way they always have and they don't need a good smack, they need to learn RESPECT with parental support and guidance to continue through school and gain RESPECT through the teachers and staff getting on their level, being someone they want to communicate with and having time for them.
What do you think? Is the nation getting parenting wrong? should we bring back a 'bloody good hiding'? Is it childrens' behaviour has worsened through change in diets or change in lifestyles? Or is it all the adults faults?

support for parents of children with an autistic spectrum disorder

As a mum of 3 children i know how having support is essential. It is essential not only for the children to have different adults in their lives to learn from but it is also essential for the parents.A family which has a child with an autistic spectrum disorder has a whole different set of obstacles to deal with and this can be totally overwhelming.When my son was born it wasn't long before i realized there was something different with his behaviour than the other children of his age. I suppose i was lucky really that i was able to notice his strange behaviours but most of all, accept there may have been an underlying problem. This all became very noticeable from between the ages of 18 months and 2 years. Other children were learning to socialise at toddler group whilst my son was finding 'being nice' a huge mountain to overcome.
Soon he stood out from the crowd as the other children's social and emotional skills were developing at a normal rate and yet he could not mix with them in a proper manner. He was unaware of this at that particular time of his life so it wasn't a problem for him at all. It was me who was really feeling the alienation due to his behaviour. Other mum's would meet up at each other's houses and chat while their little ones played happily together and of course it wasn't long before i wasn't invited. This is where the support started to break down, when really i was in need of it more than them.
As my son grew older there were times when his disorder was noticeable and other times when it wasn't so noticeable and there were 'friends' (and i use that term loosely) that started to drift away from me, or worse still would look upon my son as a 'naughty' child with a mum who obviously couldn't control her child!
Still we had no diagnosis to explain or understand why he was the way he was - but all along i knew exactly what it was so i was as understanding of his fustrations as i could be. I could look into his eyes and see the most beautiful soul that most other people refused to see.
There was the odd person who actually could see him the way i did but most others didn't! What i started to notice was the people who had the time,patience and understanding brought out the best in him; whereas those who couldn't be bothered to look beyond the quirky behaviours most certainly did not!
I could write so much on the struggle of bringing up a child with these difficulties and i'm sure other families who have children with an ASD would be able to relate to them fully. But what i am trying to emphasise is support is a necessity for the families and complete understanding of the child is a must! My son is now 14 years old and has all the support he deserves at school since having the diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. He is in a 'normal' secondary school and mixes to the best of his abilities and is constantly battling with being able to control his emotions and fustrations. The most predominent feature of his personality now is that he is the most warmest, kindest individual i know and i truly believe that it is because i never gave up on seeing his true soul, but most of all because i do have some real true friends now who also have nurtured the side of him that was in need of understanding and love rather than only seeing the outbursts of fustrations , because i know, if we all as adults, see any child as being 'bad' or 'naughty' or not worth helping them that's exactly what they will become!!
So if you, as a parent, are living through this at the moment then you are not alone and my advice to you is chose your friends wisely and most of all is never let the outbursts out way the beautiful person your child truly is.
There are many sites that have a wonderful support network with people who are going through similar experiences as your familly so get in touch with them.