• 1. Netherlands• 2. Sweden• 3. Denmark• 4. Finland• 5. Spain• 6. Switzerland• 7. Norway• 8. Italy• 9. Republic of Ireland• 10. Belgium• 11. Germany• 12. Canada• 13. Greece• 14. Poland• 15. Czech Republic• 16. France• 17. Portugal• 18. Austria• 19. Hungary• 20. United States• 21. United Kingdom• Source: Unicef

Unicef 2007

• Paul Vangeert, professor of developmental psychology at the University of Groningen.

• The relationship that Dutch parents have with their children.

Why are Dutch children happy?

• Children and young people more able to participate in society from a good relationship with their parent/s

• Optimal brain development (brain develops in the context of a relationship)

• Better language development• Better social skills• Hypothesis: Born nearer their genetic potential

(mother already in a relationship with the baby in the womb less likely to smoke, drink alcohol, eat poorly with low vitamin uptake)

Why are relationship based courses important for promoting social

inclusion?

• Developed in the UK• Solihull Approach based in the NHS• 10 sessions of 2 hours each• Compliant with NICE guidance• Fathers like this group, as well as

mothers• Absolutely no literacy requirement

Understanding your child’s behaviour

• RCTs are not the only research method• Different research funding structure in USA and

Australia make it easier to fund RCTs for American and Australian programmes

• Research funding for RCTs in the UK favours medical interventions

• The UK Treasury decided they liked RCTs• The UK Treasury haven’t released any more

money to do RCTs!• The Solihull Approach has a rich mix of

quantitative and qualitative research studies

Evidence

• 5 session antenatal course ‘Understanding pregnancy, labour, birth and your baby’ liked by both fathers and mothers

• Online version of ‘Understanding your child’s behaviour’ ready soon

Related developments

• Any questions?