While I wouldn't go as far as Mrs M Pierotti in turfing parents with buggies off the buses (Letters, January 28), the recent correspondence about 'mother and child' parking spaces highlights the fact that 'family friendly' political correctness is now getting a bit too much.

As things are, parents receive significant amounts of public subsidy through the benefits system, they are entitled to a raft of legal rights and safeguards and enjoy other perks, e.g. those parking spaces.

Childless taxpayers such as myself are expected to foot the bill for all of this. Yet parents' groups and leftie politicians still mieow and hiss about how we're not being 'family friendly' enough.

There is an important point to recognise here: having children is not compulsory. In fact, given the global overpopulation problem, there is a strong argument that we should be following China's example in actively discouraging it.

I do wish those who demand ever greater parental rights would start thinking about parental responsibilities a bit, too.

For example, to those who demand zero tolerance enforcement of parent and child parking spaces, I say let's have a quid pro quo in the form of zero tolerance of noisy or misbehaving children in shops, restaurants or public transport.

Leo Enticknap,

Ingram House,

Bootham,

York.

Updated: 11:25 Monday, January 31, 2005