The month of September is traditionally a baby boom period, with recent figures predicting 20% more births. Fifty years ago, at the start of the historic baby boom of the 1960s (post World War II), just 6% of mums were not married when they gave birth compared to nearly half (47%) today and mothers were, on average, two years younger (27.4) than today’s mothers (29.5). Maternity leave was not established and remained a patchy issue until 1970.

Parenting has evolved greatly over the last half-century. Most mothers today work and either want to manage a career alongside parenthood or feel the pressure to; two-thirds (66%) of UK mothers with dependent children are in work, with over a quarter (29%) working full time. The typical family dynamic has changed too – there are now nearly three million lone-parent families (nearly one in five of all families in the UK).

Compared to that of 50 years ago, there are new and different challenges facing not just today’s parents but tomorrow’s too. Our lifestyles are busier than ever and with significant squeezes to child benefits in this difficult financial period and new proposals from the Government to halve maternity pay for up to half of all mothers, parents have plenty on their plate. A majority no longer live near their relatives and are consequently reliant on a wealth of information and services that didn’t exist fifty years ago – including the internet and extensive parental services. This wealth of information - on and offline - to help parents deal with their childcare challenges can often be useful, but can also leave some parents feeling confused and overwhelmed in terms of the choice and what is trustworthy information, but also pressured to ‘have it all’.