IF we’re not careful parents today will be nurturing a generation of children destined to be fat, selfish and unable to cope with failure.

That is, of course, a provocative overstatement but — like the awful Katie Hopkins’ recent pronouncements about overweight people — there is a grain of truth in it.

It’s certainly a fact that we need 2015 to be the Year of Common sense, when we really address the reasons for obesity rather than just coping with the results.

We know that the effect on NHS resources is huge. It’s shocking to learn there are more than 800 ambulances nationally, costing £100,000 each, especially designed for very overweight people. Paramedics say it is now common to treat patients housebound by their weight.

Obesity figures have rocketed over the last year or two. So, plainly, we as a nation are not getting the message on sensible eating and healthy lifestyle. Worse, we are not passing it on to our children.

Partly to blame is the trend that we have a “right” to do what we want - eat what we want, smoke and drink as we like, and let the State deal with the consequences. This revolves around our opinion of ourselves and is reflected in the rise of “selfies” and the need to let people know even the most trivial facts about our lives, served up somehow as interesting “information.”

In children, this introspection and trend towards demanding inborn, automatic respect from others is unrealistic about life. We have faults and weaknesses and we need to acknowledge them, not try to justify them. Spending too long online, living in a fantasy world or even manipulating the facts to reflect well on themselves is making children anti-social and unable to form genuine friendships.

They also have to face a world that is tough and competitive, and they won’t always do well or win. Wrapping children in cottonwool and turning them into little princes or princesses really isn’t helpful. They need independence and the chance to make mistakes and learn from them.

Daily life needs our eyes firmly open to what is going on around us, not stuck on Facebook or texting mates. Previous generations have had no choice but to face reality, but we are allowing many of our children to grow up with unreal expectations in every visible direction. A dash of real life, of common sense, is now long overdue.