Research from 2014 found that fathers spent seven times longer with their children compared to 40 years earlier in 1974.

The decline of listening, language and communication skills – because of shortened attention spans.Children are increasingly being bombarded with content marketing on social media: funny videos and memes which link to products. Children may also follow minor celebrities who promote certain brands and products.

Dr Marc Bush, chief policy adviser at the charity YoungMinds, said: “We know that teenage girls face a huge range of pressures, including stress at school, body image issues, bullying and the pressure created by social media. Children can apply for the armed forces at 15 years and 9 months, but they can’t serve until they are 16. Palmer argued that changes to childhood resulted in harms such as higher obesity levels, reduced concentration spans, and increasing mental health problems. Parents spend more money on children than ever – a range of specialist products and services have emerged and increased which are specifically aimed at children and child development. Ms Feuchtwang said: “Worryingly there is evidence that parents may be underestimating their daughters’ mental health needs.The government has also recently announced an increase to the amount of time children should spend in school. From September 2024 children should be. in school for 6.5 hours a day or a minimum of 32.5 hours a week. The decline of listening, language and communication skills I definitely formed a love/hate relationship with the content and the presentation of Toxic Childhood Syndrome in this book. Marketisation from 1988 has greatly increased the role of testing in schools. This has led to a narrowing of the curriculum as more time is spent on teaching children to jump through the hoops required to pass exams. Palmer’s heart is in the right place. Her anxieties about the way that modern children are being led away from biological imperatives such as the need for an adequate diet and enough sleep at night are wholly understandable. But she would be more persuasive if she could occasionally look on the brighter side as well. Small children today go to schools where they are welcomed and well looked after. At home they are hit less and loved more. These are positive gains. When there is bullying, staff are now expected to be concerned about it. But for Palmer such bullying that does exist today ‘may be partly due to over-supervision, which helps to create both bullies and victims.’ So what are the schools expected to do then? Still risk ‘over-supervising’, whatever that means, or return to the laissez-faire policies of yore? One in six children in the developed world is diagnosed as having 'developmental or behavioural problems' - this book explains why and shows what can be done about it.