Letter: When a child has grounds for divorce

Sir: The emotive 'Give me more pocket money or I'll divorce you' in your Sean Russ/Gregory Kingsley leading article ('A small step for a boy', 28 September) is misleading, not least for implying that children such as Sean are middle-class brats who call the tune.

The reality for such children is grim. It is their parents who often 'divorce' them in all but a technical sense.

A substantial number of fathers abandon their families and do not support their children, and neglectful parents of both sexes often maintain only an unreliable contact with them.

Sean's mother was absent to him for eight out of his 12 years, leaving him first with his alcoholic father and then to drift in and out of foster homes. His future looked bleak when he was found by his new family.

It is Dickensian to blame Sean for being tempted by the opportunity of a stable family life, however much we may sympathise with his pitiful mother. Parents who are emotionally divorced from the fundamental needs of their children cannot expect unconditional loyalty in return.

This is not to suggest that the needs of children such as Sean are catered for by 'divorce'. However, the latter is more a symptom than a cause of social problems, and of the failure to deal with them adequately.

Yours faithfully,

MEIRA LIKIERMAN

London, NW3

29 September