Introduce 'five-a-day' campaign to promote good parenting, think-tank urges government

The idea is the centrepiece of liberal think-tank Centre Forum’s report Parenting Matters, which argues that good parenting is a skill that can be learnt. It says governments of the past have shied away from such campaigns amid fears of being accused of "nanny-stateism".

According to Centre Forum, the concept of the "five-a-day" healthy eating campaign should be replicated to promote good parenting.

The five daily activities for parents the think-tank proposes are for parents to read to their child for 15 minutes, play with their child on the floor for 10 minutes, talk with their child for 20 minutes with the TV off, praise them frequently and give them a nutritious diet.

Other proposals include making parenting classes more widely available and stigma-free. This could be through a continuation of ante-natal classes for the first few years of a child’s life.

The report also calls for parents from lower income backgrounds to be targeted. Such a move would help improve social mobility, according to The Centre Forum.

Children’s minister Sarah Teather said she is interested in exploring the concept of a five-a-day-style parenting campaign.

She said: "I will be interested to hear the views of the sector on the report's suggestion of 'five-a-day' for child development."