A mum-of-three has told how she tackled her children's “meltdowns" by scrapping her “authoritarian" parenting style – instead letting them ditch school and decide for themselves what to eat and when to sleep.

Discovering that a rigid routine did not work well with her “spirited" eldest George, eight, Nic Bescoby, 30, now swears by 'unschooling'– where children learn only what they want to, rather than following a set curriculum.