A damning report by a Kent professor has exposed us as a nation so tied up in political correctness we are afraid to hug children.

Frank Furedi, Professor of sociology at the University of Kent, argues that the growth of child protection policies, police vetting and CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) checks is poisoning the relationship between the generations and damaging the voluntary sector.

Titled Licensed to Hug, the report published today goes on to suggest that in a climate where many adults feel uneasy about acting on their healthy intuition, they are now wary of interacting with any child other than their own.

This leaves the generations drifting further apart.

It also notes that vetting can create a false sense of security as it can only identify those who have previously offended and been caught – not what people will do after they have been cleared to be near children.

What do you think? Are we now too scared to make contact with children other than our own? Leave your Speakout comment below

Professor Furedi said: "Suspicion of grown-up behaviour towards children has fostered a climate where it has become normal for some parents to only trust adults who possess official clearance.

"However, although most of those we spoke to or surveyed in the voluntary sector accepted that 'unfortunately' a system of national vetting was now a fact of life, a significant minority have been discouraged from working with children because it’s not 'worth the effort'.”

He said current child protection policies "foster a climate where adults are forced to weigh up whether, and how, to interact with a child.

"One regrettable outcome of this is to estrange children from all adults – the very people who are likely to protect them from paedophiles and other dangers that they may face."

The report calls for a more commonsense approach to adult/child relations, based on an assumption the vast majority of adults can be relied on to help and support children.