Academics will argue that parents of babies and toddlers – especially mothers – are subject to ridiculous levels of pressure to “get things right” that leads to “unwarranted anxieties and guilt”.

Led by John Bruer, author of The Myth of the First Three Years, they say the neuroscience backing claims of the importance of parental connection in the early years has been hyped and that social policy focusing on the parent-child bond is “a waste of resources”.