Imagine the very worst home a child could grow up in: No food in the fridge, parents strung out on drugs, the children covered with scabs and beaten regularly. You would want someone to step in and save the kids.

And then there’s Scotland.

Scotland wants to treat all families as potentially abusive and appoint a “named person” (that is, a guardian) as soon as the child is born and up through age 18 to oversee the parenting. This “shadow parent” would be empowered by the government under the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act, which will take effect in 2016.

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