Early childhood intervention offers value for money and can improve children’s quality of life, but government should consider how far it can intervene before it starts to interfere with individual liberty

Early intervention offers a relatively cost effective method of increasing people’s quality of life from a very early age. Tim Linehan argues, using the example of consuming alcohol in pregnancy, that despite its attractiveness, government must consider how far its interventions can go without interfering with individual freedoms and freedom of choice.