Children are regularly starting school without knowing their name or how to open a book, says the Government's poverty adviser.
Parents are also neglecting their children so much that they do not even know what a book is or understand the word 'stop' at the age of five, Labour MP Frank Field told the House of Commons yesterday.
He outlined the parental neglect in his Wirral constituency, during a debate on the threatened closure of Sure Start Children's Centres which provide advice for parents and carers.
Mr Field also told MPs that some children at primary schools in the Merseyside area cannot hold a crayon or dress themselves when they arrive at primary schools.
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