Rather than targeting those families most likely to need extra support, they subject us all to their closer scrutiny. From September, it will be mandatory to provide to the local council a profile and observations on my 21/2 year old attending a private nursery 2 mornings a week.

Joanna, Fulham, UK

Schools should specialise, in particular in problem kids but also the very bright and for all those in between we should be free to choose their schools so that pressure is put on them to respond to our needs. Then ministers can get out of the way and do what they do best, fiddle their expenses.

R Mason, London, Uk

There was a report which claimed the more hours spent in
early childhood care,the greater the incidence of antisocial
problems later.Encourage fulltime mothering for longer.Give
each mother in Maternity a book on joys of motherhood(they grow up so quickly)with info.on ages & stages & parenting.

Joan Moira Peters, Whangarei UK Citizen , temp o/seas in New Zealand

Faustino is right it is too late. We often know when someone is pregnant how things could go. If someone drinks or smokes
or has a violent BF we can guess the results . Smoking and drinking damage the baby and it is then more difficult to parent.Single Mums have higher rates of PN depression.

Adam, Bury, UK

The most important job ever, that of being parents, is done mostly by people who no longer have the chance to see good parenting first hand. We drop people into a small room, flat, house and let them get on with it. Most of us no longer have
large families around us with knowledge and support.

Adam, Bury, UK

"Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, called for a huge expansion of state intervention in family life"

More interference from this rotten, corrupt and incompetent Stalinist government.

Do we really have to wait for 2 more years to be rid of this sickening lot?

Anthony Price, Truro, Cornwall, UK

Extensive US evidence is that successful early interventions target families in which children have a high likelihood of going to gaol, a low likelihood of sustained employment. But age five is far too late, the family/child patterns are entrenched before then.

Faustino, Brisbane, Australia

PS: and successful programs don't depend on coercion and requiring dysfunctional families to sign and adhere to contracts. The parents need to appreciate the potential benefits from the interventions, rather than have them imposed (except in extreme cases such as remote aboriginal communities in Oz)

Faustino, Brisbane, Australia

Why don't they try investing in local communities as a whole, and not just London.
The amount of investment outside London has been very poor, and that reflects in our very fractured society.

Mark, Yorkshire,

'The State' since when did we become a 'State', thought we were a Country
Oh yes, when labour took over, we have certainly been in a 'State' ever since

paul, nottingham, uk

Canada runs a program of support for new parents funded by private co's the motto "the years before 5 last the rest of their lives". Helping educate parents in parenting has a long term benefit. Being a parent is on the job training which can go horribly wrong perhaps BP/Tesco et could fund it

Jason Pearson, Toronto, Canada

I now distrust this Orwellian government so much that I'm not prepared to trust them with this latest initiative. It just looks like they're simply building an ever more intrusive police state.

Simon, Brentwood, UK

compuslive meddlers aren't they?

matthew jones, Kettering,

Perhaps it is the state that needs to control it's failing family law courts that are pulling families apart, would not put Harriet Harman, Jacqui Smith, Germaine greer or the producers of womans hour in line to put this right..now would you!
"here here Richard of manchester"

Dave Farmer, Broxbourne, England

Yet more state intervention by the NuLab Stasi ... where will it end?

Paul, Coventry,

Stop paying pointless people to have pointless babies. There are 6 million people on benefits in the UK - why? There is a constant inflow of 'necessary' immgrants - because the benefit claimants are not working.

This is all part of the Nulabour disaster -get rid of them

H Horse, Jersey, uk

Give them the name and they'll play the game.

judy, Liverpool, England

What a load of rubbish, I came from a family that never had anyone in trouble, though poor and living in a bad area. But went to prison when I was 25years old and am the only one from my family in trouble. 6 brothers ansd sister.

keith warden, leamington spa, england

Oh well, at least we don't need to worry about how HM Govt is going to fund education. The cash can be transferred from the defence budget. What's the point of all those nuclear missiles we had trained on the Soviet Union when Ms Smith is herself proposing Soviet-style interference in family life?

Edmund Burke, Kingston upon Thames, England

Didn't a wise man thousands of years ago say something along the lines of "Govern a large country as you would fry a small fish."?

A Mercer, Wantage, England

I work in the community safety field and believe that early prevention approaches are essential. So much time is spent picking up the pieces from issues that could have been identified and resolved earlier.

Jonu, London, England

This is a bit rich. Having fought the War Aginst The Family for 11 years+, encouraged family breakups through the use of Secret Courts and dogmatic social workers...having promoted the idea of fatherless families, and discouraged stay-at-home mums, now Smith wants to crack down on the results.

Richard England, Manchester, England

We are thre NuLabour Borg, resistance is futile!

Pete, St Albans, England