A FEW years ago I visited a primary school. The children were lovely, but while talking to them I could not help but notice the state of their teeth.

In place of teeth, many of them had brown stumps, and the sight was, quite honestly, horrific.

There were so many with bad teeth that I asked their teacher about it. She showed me some of the packed lunched on the trolley. These snacks, provided by parents, were made up of sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks. Some had plain fruit juice but, disturbingly, only a handful had water.

The teacher said that despite talking to parents about healthy eating, there wasn’t much they could do. Things have changed since then and schools are allowed to impose regulations on the type of food to be eaten. But it is hard to police and if a parent does not want to comply what can they do?

Almost a third of five-year-olds now have tooth decay and some children are waiting up to a year to have their rotten teeth removed because there is such a backlog.

The idea proposed by dentists’ of putting graphic health warnings on fizzy drinks similar to those on cigarette packets might put a few people off, yet I don’t believe it will deter those who could not care less what damage they are doing to themselves or their children.

Adults still smoke in cars – although this will shortly be banned – and it is not uncommon to see mums pushing prams while puffing away on a cigarette.

Everyone know that second-hand smoke is harmful to children, but people still smoke in their presence.

When my daughters were little I took them to playgroup and was shocked to see parents stuffing bottles of juice into the mouths of babies.

I remember one mother grimacing at the suggestion of giving her child water and saying something like: “She hates water – I don’t blame her, it doesn’t taste of anything.”

At the supermarket checkout, I often see families with trolleys laden with huge bottles of fizzy drinks no doubt to be consumed with their tea.

Yet to put health warnings on drinks could open the floodgates – what about sweets, biscuits and cakes? Some children are regularly handed a bag of sweets to keep them quiet.

There’s sufficient warnings in the media and schools play a vital role with special lessons on healthy eating.

But no amount of warnings will stop some people. I’ve managed to keep sugary drinks at bay for years, but now I’m having to lecture my 17-year-old daughter who likes energy drinks. She knows the teeth-eroding risks, but like many people, she is obviously prepared to take them.