Some also use screen-based technology such as smartphones and tablet computers
to keep children occupied, she suggested.

Speaking ahead of a conference in central London on Thursday, Mrs Goddard
Blythe said: “Attention, balance and co-ordination skills learned during the
first 36 months of life support cognitive learning and have been linked to
performance on SATs at school.

“Infants need opportunity for free movement and exploration whether that is
tummy time, cuddling or rough play.

“But social interaction also helps physical development, for example eye
contact, singing and talking. That is not happening if a child is in a
forward facing buggy and her mum is using her smartphone.”

The conference – “Building the brain: what’s love got to do with it?” – will
be staged by the charity What About the Children?

It is designed to examine how the first three years shape a child’s emotional,
physical and mental health for their entire life.

Previous research by Dundee University has found that forward-facing push
chairs can leave infants “emotionally impoverished”. Children were less
likely to be sleeping, laughing or interacting with their parents than those
in buggies facing their parents, it was claimed.

Youngsters also had faster heart rates if they are unable to look at their
mothers and fathers – and may even have higher levels of stress.

Parents insist that equipment such as push chairs and car seats are an
invaluable part of child-rearing – particularly when mothers or fathers are
left in sole charge of children during the day.

Mrs Goddard Blythe admitted they were a normal part of childhood and “used
sparingly should not cause problems”.

But she said: “The trend is that children are spending an increasing amount of
time in restricted sedentary positions, from where the scope for physical
experience is constrained.

“The best playground for a baby in the first months of life is firstly the
mother’s body and secondly a clean blanket on the floor.

“From there a child learns head and neck control, and eventually ‘how’ to roll
and sit by himself – this is different from the experience of being ‘placed’
in a sitting position by an adult.”

She added: “I am not anti-baby equipment but I see the results of restricted
physical interaction in the early years, and also a new generation of
parents who are not aware of what babies and children need in the early
years to build the physical foundations for learning.”

On the issue of baby door bouncers or swinging chairs, Mrs Goddard Blythe
said: “Used in moderation they can be fun but the danger with rockers is
that they are used as baby pacifiers and they are left in them for too
long.”

June O’Sullivan, chief executive of London Early Years Foundation, who will
also address the conference, said: “Children’s wellbeing starts with
positive attachment to adults who are attuned and responsive. If they
understand the children’s emotions and put their fears into words, it is
very reassuring to the child.

“Wellbeing in the early years is the foundation of success at school, in
making friends and relationships and for all adult life.”