The advice from a former Nursery World reader - to smack a crying toddler to sleep - hit the national headlines when we looked back in our 80th birthday issue at some of the more bizarre childcare guidance that has been offered over the years.
Nannies nowadays are horrified that one of their number could have suggested such a brutal practice, even if it was in 1936. Similarly, early years practitioners today are aghast at the suggestion, made in 1925, that the cure for a fussy eater is to starve the child for 24 hours so: 'The wicked boy may be transformed into a likeable young person who appreciates his mealtimes.'
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