Be wary of social media influencers, Phillipson tells parents

Parents who turn to TikTok and Instagram influencers for advice on everything from potty training to childhood vaccination risk falling victim to misleading information, the education secretary said yesterday.

- Sally Weale Education correspondent

Bridget Phillipson, who is standing for the deputy leadership of the Labour party, was speaking at the launch of the government's Best Start in Life early years campaign.

“Becoming a parent for the first time, especially if you're in a less well-off community, can be incredibly isolating and very lonely, and it’s therefore understandable that parents seek to access support online,” she said during a visit to a family hub in Peterborough.

“But some of that information will be poor quality or misleading,” she said, adding: “I’m concerned that parents often see conflicting advice online that makes them worry about whether they’re doing the right thing.”