Miriam Cates has warned of the rising number of young children who start school still wearing nappies, as she gave a "practical illustration" of the failing of communities.
The Conservative MP and adviser to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship gave a keynote speech on fertility decline in Western nations in London today.
Speaking at the ARC Conference, Cates claimed the "social fabric is fraying around us", and we are "seeing the consequences for children" because of it.
Cates said the decline was due to the "pursuit of freedom, prosperity and happiness".
Miriam Cates argued that 'we see the consequences for children of the fraying of our social fabric'
GB News / ARC
Cates stated: "While the trauma and the suffering of the World Wars gave way to hedonism, After witnessing the appalling consequences of authoritarianism, we were determined to end all forms of oppression.
"But in doing so, we began to mistake all boundaries for tyranny, throwing off established, shared norms and values that were the source of our freedom rather than its antithesis. Boundaries such as marriage, the sanctity of life, parental responsibility, shared heritage and traditions, duty to our nations."
Cates then referred to her comparison of children starting school still in their nappies, joking with the crowd that she "never thought she'd make a speech about toilet training to 1500 world leaders".
She said: "It might sound like a trivial issue, but the cost to schools is considerable. In fact, it's unaffordable, with additional full time paid adults required just to change nappies and clear up mess."
Cates highlighted the "long term cost" to children who are not toilet trained from a young age before starting their school years, arguing: "A child who's not been trained in this most rudimentary of skills by the age of five has little chance of being trained in all of the other essential skills and virtues required for a successful life."
She continued: "Just 20 years ago, it would have been unthinkable to send a child to school in nappies. But now 90% of reception teachers report having children in their class who are not toilet trained.
"How has this happened? Well, toilet training is difficult. I've done it three times successfully. It involves getting your hands and most of your house dirty. It's not a pleasant experience for parent or child, but it's necessary from parents. It requires the sacrifice of individual autonomy to stay physically close to your child at all times.
"Potty training can take weeks of dedication to the task. This is increasingly impossible when our GDP obsessed economic system demands that even mothers of small children leave their infants in daycare to return to the workplace."
Miriam Cates said a child who is not potty trained has 'little chance of being trained in all of the other essential skills'
PA
Cates affirmed a child's "emotional discomfort" is sometimes necessary in the short term, for his or her long term best interests" but said a parent's "understanding of happiness has become so distorted that many parents now believe they should do whatever it takes to shield their child from discomfort".
She added: "In a number of other different trends, soaring childhood obesity, smartphone addiction, children who believe they can change their gender, or those who are addicted to violent pornography, we see the consequences for children of the fraying of our social fabric.
"We now have an emerging generation who have never experienced the security of a strong social fabric, who've lost hope in ever enjoying the same freedom, prosperity and happiness as their parents and grandparents.
"Crippled with anxiety, without the boundaries of social norms, robbed of economic capital but our addiction to debt, fearful of offence because we've taught them to be defined by their feelings to many of our young society, is a failure, and they have become a fertile breeding ground for an ideological radicalism that seeks to overturn, to subvert what's left of our social fabric."
