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Parenting

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, in her powerful and eloquent maiden speech, referred to housing and parenting. We know that more than 100,000 families are now living homelessly, which is a very high number and a troubling situation. I have visited Newham and seen damp running down the walls of some of the private rented accommodation in that area. The poor quality of housing is a real problem for families. It struck me some time ago, sitting in on a parenting group, how invaluable it was for those parents to have a highly skilled facilitator and to sit together to talk about their children. One parent had two sets of twins under the age of five and spoke little English. Such parents had the opportunity to break through the isolation of their lives, which for some of them at least were impoverished because of these challenges. I welcome in particular the work of the Parenting Education & Support Forum, which organised the session, and especially Mary Crowley, whose devotion to this cause is very noteworthy. I hope that the Minister will ensure that in the academies that he is establishing there will be a space for these sorts of classes and will bear in mind how to encourage them as far as possible. I wish to talk about information for parents on the value to the child in the first year of life of a close and interested relationship with parents. Last week I attended a lecture on midwifery at King’s College London introduced by the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege. My neighbour provided ante-natal classes to parents. She was a professional woman in her fifties of vast experience and a former chief executive of a large maternity charity. I expressed my concern to her that parents were not being informed of the value of a good relationship between child and parents in the first year of life. She replied that it worried her to hear so many parents making early plans to rush back to work. I warmly welcome Her Majesty’s Government’s proposals to introduce an extension of paid parental leave. That is a tremendous step forward. However, we   live in a society that puts great value on home ownership, the latest car and clothes. Unless clear information is provided to parents and prospective parents that their full attention and sustained interest in their child in the first year of life are of importance, they may make other commitments. A good attachment to the parents can be immensely rewarding for those parents. It also helps to ensure that the child learns how to manage his emotions in later life so that when he begins school he can contain his feelings of disappointment, elation, rejection or anger. Some parents who are professionals, for instance, lawyers, need to understand that childcare comprises more than just feeding and watering, and that a nanny, if employed, needs to be emotionally interested and invested in their child. Parents on low incomes need to be aware that passing a baby between several low-paid helpers is undesirable. I hope that in his response the Minister will say that Her Majesty’s Government recognise the importance of the secure attachment of a child to his parents in the first year of life, and that he will say how Her Majesty’s Government are ensuring that all parents and prospective parents are aware of this, for instance, through PSHE. One welcomes the drive towards parental employment and consequent reduction in child poverty. That is very positive, but the approach needs to be nuanced and to recognise fully the developmental needs of children.