You should hug your little ones more as ‘tough love’ is no longer the way to raise children, the Health Secretary has warned.
Victoria Atkins said generations of parents were given the wrong advice about how to care for newborn babies.
Long-held beliefs that hugging a child too much will make them ‘clingy’ or that crying babies should be left to soothe themselves are being targeted as part of a new campaign.
The Start for Life programme, recently launched by the Department of Health, aims to dispel these myths and encourage parents to cuddle their children as much as they would like. It also recommends comforting babies when crying and mirroring your baby’s reactions and emotions.
Long-held beliefs that hugging a child too much will make them ‘clingy’ or that crying babies should be left to soothe themselves are being targeted as part of a new campaign (stock image)
Victoria Atkins (pictured) said generations of parents were given the wrong advice about how to care for newborn babies
Experts have warned that being too tough can damage a young child’s mental health, and have an impact into adulthood.
‘As our understanding has improved, so too must our communication of that advice to parents,’ Ms Atkins told the Sunday Express.
‘That is very much what Start for Life is about. If we can give children the best start in life, not only is it very good for them, it’s also really great for everyone else in the family.’
A survey has found that more than half of parents believed they received unhelpful advice in their baby’s early life, such as being told to let a child ‘cry it out’ or limiting physical affection.
Nearly a third said they now feel guilty about following these recommendations.
As part of the £300million campaign, help will become available at 400 family hubs across the country and online. It will provide advice to new parents, as well as a place to meet others facing the same challenges.
