In practically every sphere from gender equality to poverty reduction, Sweden seems to top the world league. But there is growing evidence that all is not well in the Secular Paradise.

For example, a 2006 investigation by the Swedish government reveals that in regard to mental health problems among teenagers, Sweden fares more poorly than 11 comparable European countries.

In addition, Sweden is dropping down educational league tables.

Also, this new study finds that Swedish children from divorced families are 48pc more likely to experience psychological problems than their peers from intact families.

Now we have a new book, ‘How Children Took Power’, by psychiatrist David Eberhard who warns that Swedish parents’ unwillingness to discipline their children has bred a nation of ill-mannered brats.

Swedish children, Mr Eberhard writes, are definitely both seen and heard: “If you have a dinner party, they never sit quietly. They interrupt. They’re always in the centre, and the problem is that when they become young adults, they take with them the expectation that everything is centred around them, which makes them very disappointed.”

He adds that Swedish children “don’t say thank you. They don’t open doors. On the subway, they don’t stand for elderly people or pregnant women”.

Eberhard attributes a series of other problems, already mentioned above, such as Sweden’s growing truancy rates, a rise in anxiety disorders and the country’s declining performance in international educational league tables to this lack of parental discipline.

Jonas Himmelstrand, a critic of the Swedish day-care system, points out that Swedish parents hand their children over to day-care centres at such a young age and for such long hours that they are losing the ability to parent.

So it seems that the Swedish commitment to the freedom and equality of adults is producing a growing class of victims: children.