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Keir Starmer announces plan for supervised toothbrushing in schools (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/6562239

Keir Starmer has said he is “up for the fight” of defending the “nanny state” as he announced plans to improve child health under a Labour government, including supervised toothbrushing in schools.

The Labour leader said that children were “probably the biggest casualty” of the Tories’ sticking-plaster approach to politics over the past 14 years, adding that, if the government were a parent, they could be charged with neglect.

“I know that we need to take on this question of the nanny state,” he told reporters. “The moment you do anything on child health, people say ‘you’re going down the road of the nanny state.’ We want to have that fight.”

Ahead of a visit to a children’s hospital, Starmer criticised the Tories’ record on child health. “They’re probably the biggest casualty of sticking-plaster politics in the last 14 years,” he said. “Frankly, if parents had treated children as badly as the UK government has, they would probably be charged with neglect. It’s that bad.”

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

My wife - who is only just thirty - had her remaining teeth removed in the last year or so. She’s an outlier because critical meds in childhood caused serious problems, but…

Like anything else, it’s much easier - and by the by less expensive - to treat early. She absolutely stands by her choice, and after watching her in constant pain over a number of years, I don’t blame her.

All the education in the world wouldn’t have helped her personally, given the cause, but it will damned sure help many others who just don’t understand the gravity of it at a young age.

I’m American, grew up solidly middle class and with dental care. Current me would have benefited from this sort of nudge, even if only because I would have figured out sooner just how damned important it is.