Foods Standards Agency reminds parents of advice on making up infant formula

The Agency is reminding parents and childcarers who use powdered infant formula to use hot water to make up a feed. Formula powder isn’t sterile, so occasionally it could contain harmful bacteria, which could make babies ill. Using water that is 70°C, or higher, will kill any harmful bacteria in the powder.

In practice, this means boiling at least 1 litre of water in a kettle and leaving it to cool for no more than half an hour.

Recent research funded by the Agency has confirmed the importance of using hot water to make up powdered formula. But some parents aren’t aware of this advice and may use cold water, or boiled water that has been cooled for longer than half an hour.

Ready-to-feed liquid formula, sold in cartons, doesn’t need to be mixed and is sterile. But it is more expensive to buy than formula powder.

If you are making up powdered infant formula, follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how much powder and water to use for each bottle. You should also do the following:

Clean and sterilise bottles and teats before you use them.
Use fresh tap water (don’t use water that has been boiled before).
Fill the kettle with at least 1 litre of water.
Boil the water.
Then leave the water to cool for no more than half an hour.
Always put the water in the bottle first, before the powder.

Cool down the milk by holding the bottom half of the bottle under cold running water, with the cap covering the teat. (This is to avoid scalding the baby.)

Test the temperature of the formula milk on the inside of your wrist before giving it to a baby. It should be body temperature, which means it should feel warm.

If there is any made-up formula milk left after a feed, throw it away. You should also throw away any milk that has been at room temperature for more than two hours.

The Government advises mothers to breastfeed exclusively until their babies are six months old and then to continue after introducing solid foods. For more information about feeding babies, talk to your GP or health visitor, or read the advice on our eatwell site.

For information on breastfeeding, call the National Breastfeeding helpline on 0300 100 0212 to speak to the nearest trained volunteer in your area.

View report

Bacteriocidal preparation of powdered infant milk formulae

://www.foodbase.org.uk/results.php?f_category_id=&f_report_id=395

Improvements to care for sick and premature babies in Wales

 Health Minister Edwina Hart today [Monday, 7 December] accepted the recommendations of an expert group on improvements to care for sick and premature babies in Wales.

The group, led by Dr Jean Matthes, Consultant Neonatologist at Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, has produced a plan to improve neonatal services. Priorities include introducing dedicated neonatal transport services, improved information systems, and the establishment of a Neonatal Managed Clinical Network for Wales. The network should be operational in February.

The group’s recommendations outline how the additional £2million a year of Assembly Government funding announced by the Minister for neonatal services will be spent.  Planned improvements include:

Two neonatal transport services, one in south Wales and one in north Wales. The transport services will ensure rapid and safe transport to specialist centres. The services will operate 12 hours a day in the first instance, with planned progress towards a 24-hour service in the future as staff resources are developed. The new service should be operational from spring next year.

Specialist Neonatal services concentrated in three centres in South Wales – Swansea, Cardiff and Newport – and one in North Wales, yet to be determined.

Recruitment to begin for additional Neonatal Consultants and Neonatal Nurses at each centre to deliver the new service.

A single Neonatal Database enabling the standardised collection of data across Wales.

Dr Jean Matthes, Chair of the Expert Group, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the development of the neonatal transport services, database and network.  This will significantly help to improve the services for newborn babies and their families throughout the whole of Wales.”

Dr Huw Jenkins, Consultant Paediatrician at University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, added: “This is a very welcome announcement and I am pleased that the hard work of the clinicians and others involved in developing the neonatal standards and service models is coming to fruition.”

Home birth figures remain static across UK

Across the UK in 2008, 21, 211 (2.7%) of all births (787,032) took place at home, compared with 20,548 (2.68%) in 2007. This shows no rise in the home birth rate.

In England 18,933 women (2.8%) had a home birth, from 665,779 births.

Wales has the highest proportion of women having home births, 1,314 (3.7%) from 35,256 births.

In Scotland, 881 women (1.5%) had a home birth, from 60,366 births. And in Northern Ireland, 83 women (0.3%) had home births from 25,631 births.

In many areas community midwifery services are not being developed to increase access to home births and birth centres, and women are not being given balanced information to make well-informed choices. Low midwifery staffing levels mean home birth is either not being offered, or withdrawn at short notice. Every trust and board should ensure that choice of place of birth is available to all women.

Local administrative areas with highest and lowest home birth rates include:-

		HIGHEST		LOWEST
England		South Hamms – 13.6%		Alnwick 0.0%
Scotland		East Lothian – 5.0%		Eilean Siar – 0.4%
Wales		Bridgend – 9.5%		Merthyr Tydfil – 1.3%

New data provided by the Office of National Statistics, The General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Statistics analysed by BirthChoiceUK – available at www.BirthChoiceUK.com/HomeBirthRates.htm

Back after the bump: Mums face a challenging return to the workplace

Returning to work after maternity leave is still a hugely daunting and difficult experience for many mothers, according to new survey published today (30 November) by the NCT.

One in three women (39 per cent) said they found going back to work after having a baby ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’, with 31 per cent saying their relationship with their boss had deteriorated since they had become pregnant. Despite a host of legislation and HR policies aimed at successfully welcoming mothers back into the workplace, many say they’re still not receiving the support they need.

The study, which surveyed over 1,500 mothers who have recently gone back to work, also found that one in three (32 per cent) felt their promotion prospects had been reduced since having a baby, while 13 per cent said they have reduced seniority since returning to work.

Currently, employees with caring responsibilities for children aged 16 and under have the statutory right to request to work flexibly, enabling them to adjust their working pattern to suit their needs. The vast majority (88 per cent) of mothers who were surveyed for the NCT’s report wanted to work flexibly on their return to work. However, one in six (16%) of those said their request for flexible working practices had gone nowhere.

Emma, a bank office clerk, found her return to work extremely frustrating: “I told the HR department and also my line manager when I’d be coming back, but still nobody was expecting me when I returned. I’ve also seen the same happen with two other colleagues. It’s a bit disappointing really and makes you feel as if you’re not wanted.”

Renata, a shop floor supervisor, also experienced difficulties, particularly when it came to a request for flexible working:

“Before my maternity leave, I decided that when I returned to work I would work part time. I completed all the necessary paperwork and it was formally confirmed with my manager. However, a week before my return, he informed me that no part-time work was available. It was completely unprofessional; they shouldn’t have made false promises.”

To help guide both mothers and employers through a smooth return to the workplace, the NCT and the charity Working Families have published two free downloadable guides available : click here: www.nct.org.uk/returningtowork

or www.workingfamilies.org.uk.

Sarah Jackson, Chief Executive of Working Families, says: “Returning to work when you have a new baby can be very difficult for the new mother and her manager. But the good news is that problems can be avoided by good communications and good planning together. These new guides take mother and manager step by step from early pregnancy, through maternity leave and a successful return to work”

Top tips on maternity leave for mums:

– Prepare a handover plan – discuss with your boss the options for handing over responsibilities and when it is appropriate to do this
– Remember, you are entitled to 52 weeks maternity leave, regardless of length of service or the number of hours you work
– Keep a record of everything and try to get agreements in writing
– Start thinking about your return to work early on
– Anything can be flexible working – it doesn’t have to be a reduction in hours, it could be home working, compressed hours, job sharing or term time only working

Notes:

The online survey was completed by 1,541 mothers from 1 September – 31 November 2008.

The experiences of women returning to work after maternity leave in the UK – This report seeks to understand experiences of mothers returning to work after maternity leave in the UK

Doulas – a help for mums

Commenting on BMJ.com, a doctor today says that the presence of doulas during labour may alter the doctor-patient dynamic and can compromise communication and therefore patient care.

Furthermore, the need for doulas implies a failing of medical and midwifery services and also the support provided by family and friends, says Dr Abhijoy Chakladar who was working at Worthing Hospital in West Sussex when he first encountered a doula.

Background

There are two types of doula – birth and postnatal – and some cover both areas. A birth doula is there to offer physical and emotional support to you (and your partner) during labour and for your birth. They don’t do anything medical but are a continuous, reassuring presence.

Most (but not all) doulas are mothers themselves and may or may not have done additional training. Those recognised by Doula UK will have completed an approved training course and will have de-briefed and reflected on what birth means for them. A birth doula will usually cost between £200 and £600. Postnatal doulas are there to support you at home after the birth – ‘mothering the mother’ so you can mother your baby.

Home birth figures remain static across UK

Across the UK in 2008, 21, 211 (2.7%) of all births (787,032) took place at home, compared with 20,548 (2.68%) in 2007. This shows no rise in the home birth rate.

In England 18,933 women (2.8%) had a home birth, from 665,779 births.

Wales has the highest proportion of women having home births, 1,314 (3.7%) from 35,256 births.

In Scotland, 881 women (1.5%) had a home birth, from 60,366 births. And in Northern Ireland, 83 women (0.3%) had home births from 25,631 births.

Local administrative areas with highest and lowest home birth rates include:-

		HIGHEST		LOWEST
England		South Hamms – 13.6%		Alnwick 0.0%
Scotland		East Lothian – 5.0%		Eilean Siar – 0.4%
Wales		Bridgend – 9.5%		Merthyr Tydfil – 1.3%

New data provided by the Office of National Statistics, The General Register Office for Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. Statistics analysed by BirthChoiceUK – available at www.BirthChoiceUK.com/HomeBirthRates.htm

NCT members have contacted us to share their experiences of home birth. Please see below for some case studies.

Case Studies:

Rosie Evans, Rugby: “After giving birth to a stillborn girl, followed by a miscarriage, we were very anxious for the birthing experience to be special. We chose to have a home birth because I knew that in a hospital environment I would not feel able to birth, because for birth you need relaxation and for relaxation I need privacy and control.

The home birth was very positive. Everyone who meets our daughter comments how calm and contented she is. I have no doubt that this, my effective contractions and short labour were all down to the fact that she was born in water and at home.”

Helen O’Donnel, Worcester: Helen gave birth in a water bath at home with her mother, husband and two community midwives present. It was a very positive experience.

Charlene Lucas, Twickenham: “I chose to have a home birth and informed my midwife (at the GP surgery) at 20 weeks. She was supportive, but said she could not guarantee me a home birth. Someone would bring round my home birth kit at 37 weeks, bit I would only find out whether someone could attend my birth at home when I went into labour, otherwise I would need to go into hospital.

As it turned out, I was recommended to go into hospital as the baby was breech and the birth went well. However, it was not my first choice and had I been able to proceed with the home birth I would not have known where I would labour until the day it happened and had no idea who will be attending which is far from ideal!”

Suzanne Borrell, Brighton and Hove: “I attempted a home birth in August 2005 but ended up in an emergency c section situation. Midwives were very positive but on the day the midwife who was attending me left at 11pm after a brief visit ‘saying – I’m off home to get some sleep and I suggest you do the same’. Although it was early on in my labour I was in a lot of pain as my baby was posterior. I really could have used her support as well gas and air as the pain became almost unbearable as the hours passed.

I had a birthing pool but was nervous about using it without a midwife present. Next morning a lovely midwife then came with gas and air but I was by then exhausted by the pain. I was taken by ambulance at 5pm to Royal Sussex as labour was not progressing and had a c section at 11pm.

After having a very positive second birth in a birthing pool, I now know that the outcome would have been different if I had received more care earlier on as much of the pain came through stress and fear.”

Full list of statistics can be viewed at http://www.BirthChoiceUK.com/HomeBirthRates.htm

Midwives comment on Conservative maternity plans

Commenting on the Conservative maternity plans announced today (Thursday, 26th November 2009) at the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) conference, Cathy Warwick, RCM, general secretary, said:

“In some respects the Conservative plans  reflect a general consensus on the actions we need to take if we are to provide world class maternity services. The commitment to more midwives is positive and significant, as is the promise of more locally based services, but of course both will need to be funded.

“The focus on better antenatal and postnatal care is a promising step. These are the parts of the services to pregnant women that are often lacking and suffer when financial problems bite. However, I would like to see what the Conservatives mean by ‘providers’ of these services. Are they referring to a greater role for the private sector? The RCM has serious concerns about the risk that privatisation of maternity care will lead to the fragmentation of care for women.

“I would want to see more detail on the commitment on funding for maternity services. At the very, very least we would want to see funding matching the ever increasing demands on the service.

It is now generally accepted that the method we have of paying for maternity services does not support implementation of policy. The RCM would like to see a review of the funding structure to incentivise normal births and which recognises those services that can demonstrate high levels of maternal satisfaction.

“The Conservatives are putting forward a number of interesting proposals, but good words and good intent are one thing, and real and positive action is another. We want promises made to become promises delivered and the improvements we have seen so far in maternity services continuing.”

When new mums need help most

 

New research released today has revealed that, after the understandable flurry in the first eight weeks of motherhood, the period when first-time mums have the most questions about their babies’ development can be pin-pointed to five months and one week[1] after they have given birth.

 

This crucial period is when visits from friends and family naturally decline, leaving mums to make decisions on their own, and at risk of feeling isolated and anxious.

 

Mums had the most new questions at this time around weaning (81%), sleeping (42%) and safety in the home (22%).  The survey was undertaken to help with the development of NHS Baby LifeCheck by the Department of Health. NHS Baby LifeCheck (www.nhs.uk/babylifecheck) is a free online questionnaire to help new mums and dads keep their babies healthy, happy and safe.

 

The research found that during the five to eight month period:

 

• 81% say their baby’s needs are changing and developing quickly (teething, weaning, moving around) which leads to lots of questions and concerns as to whether they’re doing things right and meeting all of those needs.
• 60% experience a drop in regular visits from friends and family.
• 54% say their partner is less able by this point to get home or be at home to help out.
• 32% say they don’t have any time for themselves.
• 20% felt the realisation that baby care tasks are ‘repetitive and mundane’.

 

However, advice and support is available at this time from child health clinics, general practice and Sure Start Children’s Centres.

 

Kayleigh Pillington, a new first time mum of Logan-Rhys, now six months, says:

 

“Everyone is so excited about the baby at first, but five months in when you’ve got more questions than ever because they’re doing all these new things, interest in you and the baby really dies down. That’s when I started to feel anxious – it was all on my shoulders and I just wasn’t sure if I was doing it right.”

 

More than half (54%) of new mums hear from family once a week after their baby is born, but this drops to only a quarter (25%) five months in.

 

While grandparents, aunts and uncles may offer to help with babysitting and bedtime up to three or four times a week (65%) in the first month post birth, by five to eight months they only offer once a week or less (63%).

 

Public Health Minister Gillian Merron said:

 

“This is about equipping first time parents to make the best choices for their babies. The Government recognises that being a new parent can be a worrying time, and you want reassurance that what you’re doing is right. Parents are looking for a source of reliable information to get this reassurance and to know that they are doing the best they can for their child. That’s why the Government has set up the NHS Baby LifeCheck to empower parents to make confident decisions about their baby’s health, happiness and safety.”

 

Nicola Stenning, a Health Visitor from London said: “Parents are given essential support and advice in the first few months of their baby’s life. But the next stage is also a key time in their child’s development and can be a difficult time especially for first time parents.  It is important that information and advice is easily accessible, which is why NHS Baby LifeCheck was developed.

 

“It particularly focuses on providing support for parents of five to eight month old babies between scheduled visits from health professionals and it is a key time in their development. By guiding parents through some simple questions, we can then offer advice and reassurance on making the best decisions for their child without being judgemental.”

 

Created in consultation with parents, www.nhs.uk/babylifecheck recognises that being the mum or dad of a young baby can sometimes be a challenge.

 

It is an easy to use, online service covering topics including: development, talking and playing, feeding, healthy teeth, safety, sleep routine, immunisations and being a parent. www.nhs.uk/babylifecheck offers top tips, helpful videos and details of organisations which can support people across a range of issues – from weaning worries to feeling down or lonely.

 

Notes:

 

[1] Between 3 and 12 months of a baby’s life, mums are on average most likely to feel anxious and isolated at 5.2 months

 

Opinion Matters research carried out of 510 mothers with a child aged five to 12 months old between 24/09/2009 and 02/10/2009.

 

• NHS Baby LifeCheck is not a medical assessment and has no symptom checker. It does not provide help for parents who are worried their baby is ill. Parents with medical concerns should call NHS Direct.

 

• In the public consultation “Your Health, Your Care, Your Say” people clearly expressed an interest in taking more responsibility for their health and wellbeing. Three quarters of participants identified regular health checks as a top priority to help them do this.

 

• In response, the 2006 Government White Paper ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our Say’ announced the development of three initial NHS LifeChecks:

 

– one for young people aged 12 – 15
– one for parents and carers with babies five – eight months old and
– one for the 45 – 60 years age group 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New guide to improve neonatal care

 

The Department of Health is today publishing new guidance to help the NHS improve the care provided for premature and sick babies during their first days.

 

The NHS has made great progress in caring for babies with the lowest infant mortality rates and NHS neonatal services now care for over 60,000 babies a year.

Babies who are born prematurely, or have a low birth weight, require very specialised care in their first hours and days.  A Neonatal Taskforce was established to identify ways of further improving services to offer the best neonatal care possible.  Experts from baby charity Bliss and specialist NHS staff have helped to develop the Neonatal Toolkit to share its findings and guidance with the NHS.

While England remains one of the safest places in the world to give birth, the Taskforce has recommended that neonatal care become more family-centred to ensure the psychological as well as physical needs of babies and families are considered.  The Toolkit they have created provides practical advice on how to improve the areas that really matter to parents including:

*       making sure the right staff are on hand at the birth

*      managing high-risk pregnancies to make sure babies are born in the best place

*       improving transfers between services where necessary

 Health Minister Ann Keen said:

“As a nurse I’ve seen the excellent care the NHS provides for small and premature babies, and the doctors and nurses working in neonatal care should be proud that more babies than ever before are surviving.

“Having a sick baby is very distressing for parents at what should be one of their happiest moments.  That’s why we’re providing the NHS with practical guidance on how to make neonatal services even better and take a family-centred approach to care.  To ensure this Toolkit makes a real difference to neonatal care I have also asked to have ministerial oversight of its implementation.”

Neonatal services have been boosted in recent years with the establishment of neonatal networks.  The networks ensure joined-up care in each area and have helped to increase the number of neonatal beds and staff across England.  The Neonatal Taskforce was established last year to identify and deliver further improvements to services.  The Taskforce will continue to support the NHS to introduce the recommendations made in the Toolkit and ensure it has a significant impact on neonatal care.

 

 

 

‘Character’ is the key to social mobility

 

‘Tough love’ parents who combine warmth and discipline are better at building good character capabilities in their children ,finds a major new report from the think tank Demos.

 

Character capabilities – application, self-regulation and empathy – make a vital contribution to life chances, mobility and opportunity. For those who turned 30 in 1988, character capabilities barely impacted on their economic success. But in just over a decade, these skills became central to life chances: for those who turned 30 in 2000, character capabilities had become 33 times more important in determining earnings.

 

The development of these character capabilities is profoundly shaped by the experience of a child in the pre-school years. Children with ‘tough love’ parents were twice as likely to develop good character capabilities by age 5 as children with ‘disengaged’ parents, and did significantly better than children with ‘laissez faire’ or ‘authoritarian’ parents.  The Building Character report, which analysed longitudinal data from over 9,000 households in the UK, found that eight per cent of families have parents that are ‘disengaged’, which is approximately 600,000 families.

 

Parental confidence is also vital to developing character capabilities.  Children of parents who rank themselves poorly in terms of their own parenting ability are less likely to develop key character skills.

 

Building Character looked at the effect the following factors had on infant character development:

 

Income

• Children from the richest income quintile are more than twice as likely to develop strong character capabilities than children from the poorest quintile. 

• Children from the poorest income quintile are three times less likely to develop strong character capabilities than children from the richest quintile.

• While ‘tough love’ parenting is less frequent in low-income backgrounds, the ‘love’ element was consistently distributed throughout economic groups. Consistent rule-setting and authoritative parenting was associated with wealthier families, indicating a need for parents to set more consistent discipline and boundaries in lower income groups.

• When parental style and confidence are factored in, the difference in child character development between richer and poorer families disappears, showing that parenting is the most important factor influencing character development.

 

Family structure

• Children with married parents, both of whom are a biological parent, are twice as likely to develop good character capabilities than children from lone parent or step-parented families.

• Children with cohabiting parents fair slightly worse than those with married parents, but better than those with lone parents or step-parents.

• When parental style and confidence is factored in, the relationship between family structure and child character development disappears almost entirely, showing that parenting is the most important factor influencing character development.

 

Other factors

• The primary carer’s level of education has a positive effect on developing character capabilities.

• Breast-feeding to six months has a positive effect on developing character capabilities.

• Girls are more likely to develop character capabilities by the age of five.

• There is no connection between paid employment on behalf of either parent and the development of character capabilities.

 

The report found that while there are links between income and family structure, and the development of character, parental ability significantly diminishes these factors, making parental style and confidence the most important tools in improving social mobility.

Based on the research conducted for this report, the goals for policy should be to:

• Strengthen provision of support and information to parents to help them incubate character capabilities in their children.

• Focus support on disadvantaged children – those with ‘disengaged’ parents and those from low income groups – which have greater susceptibility to the quality of their care and poorly performing parents.

• Ensure quality control and value for money in early years intervention.

 

An ambitious agenda for equality of opportunity will need to take the development of character capabilities seriously.  Building Character includes the following policy recommendations:

 

Refocus Sure Start as a tool for early intervention: Sure Start should be less focused on childcare and more focused on child development, particularly parent-child interaction. Sure Start could also act as a more effective hub for creating peer relationships and local networks that can be central to parental support.

 

Improve pilots for the Family Nurse Partnership: While a promising model to follow from the US, before the pilots are rolled out nationally, there must be more evidence for how a FNP should work in a UK context.

 

Give health visitors an early years role: More emphasis should be placed on health visitors’ role in identifying and supporting positive parenting. Health visitors should carry out a ‘Half-Birthday Check-up’ to monitor progress and identify families that need extra support.

 

Set up a ‘NICE’ for evidence-based parenting interventions: A national body to ‘kitemark’ successful, evidence-based parenting programmes would aid local commissioners to invest in programmes that are proven to work.

Jen Lexmond, principle author of the report said:

 

“Character, something we tend to think of as a ‘soft skill’, has the most profound effect on a person’s life.  Far from a ‘soft’ skill, character is integral to our future success and wellbeing.

 

“The foundations for our character are laid before the age of five. This puts a huge emphasis on parenting, but whatever the parental background, it is confidence, warmth and consistent discipline that matter most.”

Notes:

 

Character is identified as:

Application

Application is about sticking with things. It describes one’s ability to concentrate, discipline and motivate oneself to persist with and complete a task. Strong application is underpinned by a sense of self-direction or free will, what psychologists often term agency or ‘locus of control’. It is an executive function, the impetus itself which pushes you to apply yourself to an activity, task or project. Locus of control is understood as a spectrum from an internal locus of control to an external locus of control – the former implying that an individual feels a sense of control over their environment, that they are setting the course for their life, the latter implying an individual’s attitude toward external factors as largely determining his or her life course.

 

Self-regulation

Self-regulation represents an ability to regulate emotion. It is about emotional control and also emotional resiliency – an ability to bounce back from disappointment, conflict and distress. Children who have effective strategies for dealing with these losses are much more likely to overcome adversity than those whose reactions overtake them, push them to overreactions, tantrums or violence. Individuals acting in a social world will respond with propensities (individual traits) to triggers (outward stimuli). Self-regulation determines an individual’s propensity towards overreaction or violence when triggered by an upsetting or conflict-laden situation.

 

Empathy

Empathy is an ability to put yourself in another person’s shoes – and to act in a way that is sensitive to other people’s perspectives. Empathy develops as a direct result of attachment between a child and their primary carer. From birth to age three, the number of synapses (neural connections) in the brain multiplies by 20 – and most are formed as the result of experience in their new environment. Synapse pathways are reinforced by repeated early experience; the effect is that this early learning becomes extremely resistant to change. The more nurturing and responsive an infant’s environment is and the more attuned carers are to the infant’s needs, the stronger the infant’s sense of empathy will become. Empathy leads to pro-social behaviour. It is ultimately a relational capability and underpins a set of social skills that allows individuals to interact and communicate with each other effectively.

Looking at data on over 9,000 families in the Millennium Cohort Study, Demos identified four parenting styles:

 

Tough love

This group of parents combine a warm and responsive approach to child rearing with firm rules and clear boundaries. They are assertive without being aggressive or restrictive and the aim of their disciplinary methods is to reason with and support their child rather than to be punitive. Children from ‘tough loving’ families are characterised as co-operative, self-regulating and socially responsible.

 

Laissez-faire

Highly responsive parents who are undemanding in their approach to discipline and generally non-confrontational make up a second parenting style. They are non-traditional and engaged in their approach, opting for a lenient and democratic household that allows children considerable opportunity to develop at their own pace. Laissez-faire parents are permissive of behaviour and do not impose many rules.

 

Authoritarian

This group’s approach is characterised by firm discipline and rule-based parenting practices but without much regard for children’s feelings or perspective. These parents typically value obedience and structured environments over freedom and exploration.

 

Disengaged (and, at the extreme, neglectful)

These parents are generally hands off in their approach to parenting. They are low in warmth and discipline. Extreme cases, at the lower end of both axes, make up a further group of poor parents whose children are ‘at risk’: a level of disengagement of a small minority of parents that would be considered neglectful. The lack of engagement that characterises this approach can result in the development of what some psychologists call ‘callousness’ in children. ‘Callous’ children grow up lacking a sense of empathy and guilt, and learn to see others in a purely instrumental way. The influence of parent and peer factors on callousness trajectories during adolescence plays a crucial role in the formation of these traits. Most crucial of all are parents’ warmth, affection and responsiveness in caring for their baby in the early years.

The data for this study come from information collected in the first three waves of the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS). The MCS is a large scale, longitudinal survey of children born during the same week in April across the constituent countries of the UK (Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England). Sweep 1 (MCS1) was executed during 2001–02 and included information on 18,819 babies in 18,533 families, which was collected from parents when the babies were between nine and 11 months of age. The design of the sample allowed for over-representation of those families living across England in areas with high deprivation, child poverty or ethnic minorities, as well as the three smaller countries in the UK. The first follow-up study (MCS2) took place when those same children were three years old (between 35 and 39 months of age at interview). The achieved response rate at this wave was 79 per cent of the target sample. The second follow-up study (MCS3) took place when the children were five years old and achieved a response rate of 79.2 per cent of the cohort (15,246 families). Comprehensive information on the individual cohort sweeps – objectives, origins, sampling and content of surveys – as well as documentation attached to the data can be found at the Centre for Longitudinal Studies website.