PA
A government advisor has said mums and dads should be sent TEXT messages giving them parenting advice.
Jean Gross, the 'communication champion' for children, suggests parents should be sent messages from the Department of Education with reminders to turn off the telly and talk to their babies!
Ms Gross suggested the idea in a report on kids' communication, reading and writing skills.
She argues that such a service is needed and that any opponents of it did not realise what was best for their child's development.
She said: "Every parent that I've met wants the best for their child, but not every parent knows what to do. Parents are not doing a bad job, but often they need the information to do better."
Gross claimed that many parents did not know that constant TV watching hampered a baby's talking ability.
"If you are a child under two and the television is on all day long in the background, research does show that will have a negative effect on their language development," she said. "They can't pay attention to their mum or dad talking as well." She said that speech therapists had told her that this was case.
Ms Gross also mooted the idea of texts to parents which were relevant to their child's age, giving them information of what their children should be capable of in terms of language development.
"Imagine that parents could sign up when they are pregnant to a service called 'Your amazing baby', and get regular tests sent to their smartphones. For example, one text might say 'Did you know that even in the first few months after birth, your baby can imitate you?'" She added that the recipient could then open a linked page to a website showing them a video to support the text.
Jean Gross was made a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year's Honours List for her services to education.
What do you think of these ideas? Would you welcome such texts, or do you think it is a waste of money and nanny state by text?