Inspired by reality television, the Government is setting up a network of "supernannies" to advise parents how to look after unruly children, Tony Blair announced today.

Writing in The Sun newspaper, the Prime Minister said that £4 million had been set aside to appoint "parenting experts" in 77 neighbourhoods across England to offer one-on-one support and group sessions for parents who are unable to control their children.

"This should be no surprise given the huge popularity of television programmes in which experts help parents with their problem kids," he wrote, a reference to the programme Supernanny on Channel 4, in which Jo Frost, a talented, uncompromising nanny is given three weeks to reform a dysfunctional family.

A father of four, Mr Blair described bringing up children as "the toughest thing anyone faces in their personal life" and added that the Government did not intend to punish parents whose children cut loose to harass the rest of the community.

"Being a parent is hard and most of us have to just get on and do it. But there are some families who can’t cope with it. That’s a fact. It doesn’t much matter whether it’s their ‘fault’ or not. The fact is when they don’t cope, the children suffer and then we all suffer."

Mr Blair pre-empted accusations that the initiative was the action of a meddling Government, saying that there was plenty of evidence that parents appreciated extra help and that people believed that disciplined family life was the key to preventing anti-social behaviour.

"The ‘nanny state’ argument applied to this is just rubbish. No one’s talking about interfering with normal family life," wrote Mr Blair.

"But life isn’t normal if you’ve got 12-year-olds out every night, drinking and creating a nuisance on the street, with their parents not knowing or even caring.

"In these circumstances, a bit of nannying, with sticks and carrots, is what the local community needs, let alone the child. The cost to society of a child going off the rails can run into tens of thousands of pounds."

The deployment of the "supernannies" comes as part of a flurry of policies placing parenting skills at the heart of the Government's so-called Respect agenda.

Last week, Beverley Hughes, the Children's Minister, said that parents could be taught nursery rhymes and songs as part of the curriculum of a new "national parenting academy".

The Prime Minister has also hinted at the idea of "fasbos", aimed at identifying foetuses, children yet to be born, who may be facing a difficult future.

The Government is also preparing to toughen the application of parenting orders, under which parents of children who receive an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) are compelled to attend parenting classes and impose curfews.

In the past, only parents whose children had committed a criminal offence could be forced to take the courses, but the Home Secretary, John Reid, said today that soon courts could order parents to attend if they refused to go voluntarily.

"If we can prevent young kids becoming offenders by giving help to their parents it saves an awful lot of hassle, an awful lot of victims, an awful lot of offences and an awful lot of money in the long run as well," Mr Reid told Sky News.

"The vast majority of people in those circumstances when confronted with it do it voluntarily but if they don’t, then court orders can be applied for. And it works in both cases."

There was a mixed reaction to the proposal to strengthen parenting orders today.

The Chairman of the Local Government Association, Lord Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, approved of granting councils extra powers to tackle "the menace of the mindless minority," while the chief executive of the crime reduction charity, Nacro, said parents needed help rather than coercion.

"Many parents are at their wits’ end to know how to control their children’s behaviour," said Paul Cavadino. "They need support rather than a punitive approach. Parenting courses have a proven track record in helping parents to exercise more effective control over their children’s behaviour."

"However, a voluntary approach is usually more likely to engage parents than compulsion, which can run the risk of breeding resentment."

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