Nanny state of affairs
Mixed feelings would probably sum up my initial reaction to this month’s announcement from government ministers, who have unveiled a £44million parent advice programme offering support via text message. Click here to read more about the programme
Cheap gimmick to keep voters onside or deliberate effort to put families and parenting firmly back on the agenda? The latter is certainly a good thing, yet while a change in tactics and keeping up with modern life is necessary to keep people ‘involved’, I wonder whether this method will do the trick.
My own approach towards consultations is based on empathy and encouragement – I consistently find these are desperately lacking in the lives of so many parents. Does a text achieve these things, can it impart these qualities? Perhaps, once a ‘connection’ is established with parents, this will be possible, but the scope to develop a truly personalised service is questionable.
The scheme is particularly aimed at fathers, who I’ve long campaigned for during my consultations with families, to bring them off the parenting sidelines. However, one of the marketing methods to target these dads, who are statistically less likely to seek advice, is via adverts on football and newspaper websites, which encourage them to play games and compete with other fathers… dumbing down parenting? Sadly, I think so.
The government clearly has a challenge ahead in engaging with modern families and as a preliminary measure, perhaps this will help, but what happens when the fun of the online football match stops and the transition into parenting starts? Is an advisory text message really going to wake people up the seriousness of becoming a parent and improve the nation’s parenting skills at large? Further to this, does a text message encourage social responsibility – an issue I feel, cannot be removed from parenting.
I firmly believe that parenting starts way before the birth – even before conception. Bringing a child into the world involves a life-changing commitment and just as any other commitment on this scale, needs a whole lot more consideration than naming the baby and deciding on nursery colour schemes. Children’s Secretary Ed Balls has said that he’s even considering how fathers can be targeted at the birth of their children with support advice etc. No mention of support offered to those pre-birth, which is surely the route toward more informed and positive parenting. Why not? Perhaps I’ll text him to find out…
ã Christine Meadows