The Lie Early Lie Often report encourages parents to wean children off trusting relationships before trust begins to develop. “Children grow up with unrealistic expectations from life because parents fail to undermine them,” a HSE source said.

“We see it with adults who expect outlandish things like a well-run health service, conscientious public representatives and decent weather,” the source added.

“The government and the church have gone to great lengths to eradicate false notions of high standards,” the source continued. “It is time for parents to pull their weight.”

The report offers parents simple exercises to help children adust to reality in the world beyond the home: “Try pushing them over when they are learning to walk or ride a bike or eat their favourite foods in front of them,” it advises.

The report found some wards were “unfit for human habitation”, while others were “dilapidated, desolate and depressing”. There was evidence of dysfunctional management and of untrained staff being used to administer electroshock therapy.

“We believe it is a credit to our care services that having always neglected the young and the vulnerable, and the elderly and infirm, we have not forgotten to neglect the insane,” a Govenment spokesman said. “No one has been left behind.”

“While it is clear that our standards are consistently appalling, it is that very consistency that we must be proud of in these difficult times,” he added.