Coronation Street viewers have been left unimpressed by characters Steve McDonald and Leanne Battersby’s parenting style after they used controlled crying.
Soap fans have watched Leanne, played by Jane Danson, struggle as she tries to care for her baby son Oliver who she shares with Steve (Simon Greyson).
In a recent episode the couple were seen trialling the controlled crying method which involves a parent leaving their baby to scream in tears at night.
It is thought the child will learn to soothe themselves back to sleep rather than them needing to be comforted by their mother and father.
But the use of this parenting technique on the ITV show has left some people unhappy and bosses of television regulator Ofcom have received 83 complaints, according to the Daily Star.
One person commented: “Unfortunately there is a ‘controlled crying’ storyline on Coronation Street just now. Wonder how many parents will follow that lead?”
Someone else remarked: “This totally goes against a mum’s instinct to pick up and comfort her baby,” while another viewer branded the method “cruel and wrong”.
A spokesperson for the programme said: “Like many parents Steve and Leanne decided to try using ‘controlled crying’ with Oliver. This was portrayed on screen as having very mixed results with both parents struggling to adapt to it.
“It was never advocated as a right or wrong way to get a baby to sleep and was a small part of a bigger story which saw the pair bonding over their love for the baby.”
Do you think Coronation Street writers are right to feature the controlled crying method or should this not be shown on television? Let us know on Facebook and Twitter.
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