Child Development

Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer Excerpts

Thursday 11th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer]

My Lords, my inspiration to speak in this debate came from a presentation that I saw a while ago by Professor John Stein, which he gave to the Westminster Food and Nutrition Forum. I declare an interest as I chair that forum now, following in the very large and hard-to-follow footsteps of the noble Lord, Lord Rea. Professor Stein’s presentation on the effect of nutrition on the development of children’s brains and how early that begins, from conception right through, made a very deep impression on me. I have followed the work of the Institute for Food, Brain and Behaviour, of which he is a member—and of which two Members of your Lordships' House, the noble Baroness, Lady Greenfield, and the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, are also very respected members.

Along with the other issues that your Lordships have mentioned this morning, we need to continue the battle about good nutrition. There is a danger that because a lot has happened with regard to breastfeeding—and I agree that it is in a much better place than it was at the end of the 20th century—and because there has been a lot of action on school meals, there may be a misconception that the battle about nutrition is won. But far from it—the biggest gap occurs between the moment when breastfeeding or bottle feeding finishes and the child goes to school. In those years of toddlerhood those habits are formed that are critical for what the child chooses to eat later. So the moment when the child may develop a sweet tooth and a liking for various foods, such as fruit, and an addiction to fairly salty foods, is critical. That happens between the age of nine months and three years. Even giving your young toddler lumpy foods affects their ability later on to accept very different foods. If they always receive food of the same sort of texture, their liking for different foods will be diminished.

My first question to the Minister concerns the Early Years Foundation Stage, which is the framework that sets the standard for all early years providers. Is my noble friend satisfied that nutritional standards and eating habits are adequately addressed? We all know the statistics around not sitting down for meals and not having the sort of portions that a child will finish and be satisfied with. Those are all things that early years providers need to address.

An interesting question was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Ramsbotham, in a debate in this House on 13 June 2012 when he talked about a trial of nutrient supplements in a comprehensive school in Dagenham. The Minister responding to the debate undertook to invite his department’s scientists to discuss the implications of the findings of the Institute for Food, Brain and Behaviour. I am sure that my noble friend will not have that at her fingertips today but I would be grateful to her if she would ask the department to look into how that matter is progressing.

The importance of knowing whether children have an adequate diet and the consideration of whether supplements should be added to foods are live issues. The debate over the status of nutraceuticals and the pros and cons of supplementation is not merely academic. I am sure that we have all heard about the benefit of omega-3 fatty acids in foods or about the lack of that substance. As that debate livens, the supplements industry will push for supplements to be added to foods in place of a healthy diet. We may not have enough fish in our oceans to provide us with natural fatty acids but that is the sort of question we must address. We must not forget the importance of nutrition to children.