New CBeebies presenter Gemma Atkinson has been criticised by a parenting expert after posting that she pinched her one-year-old young son when he did it to his four-year-old sister. The actress, partner of Strictly dancer Gorka Márquez, made the revelation in an Instagram post highlighting the behavioural differences between her two children. Gemma, 39, hosts a show called The Toddler Club on CBeebies and recorded a reality series on the W Channel alongside Gorka, 34, in which their children – Mia, four, and Thiago, one – regularly feature. She also hosts a parenting podcast called Mum’s The Word. The post read: ‘Really noticing the differences in how Mia was to Thiago. ‘It’s fun to watch. Toys are just banged or slid across the floor and the tantrums are new as Mia didn’t have them. ‘He pretend cries and throws himself on the floor. ‘I stand and watch until he realises it’s getting him nowhere and they are slowly getting shorter.’ On the pinching, she adds: ‘He pinches when he gets frustrated. ‘I did it back to him on Wednesday as he did it hard to Mia. He’s not done it since.’ Experts in child behaviour say adults shouldn’t pinch their children to stop them doing the same to their peers. Jo Studholme, editor of Parenting Expert told MailOnline: ‘Pinching a child back as a form of punishment is not only ineffective but can also be harmful. ‘It teaches children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict. ‘Instead, try using positive discipline techniques such as time-outs, loss of privileges, or talking calmly to the child about their behaviour.’ MailOnline has approached Gemma’s reps for comment. Gemma was revealed as the new host of The Toddler Club last summer, where she does alternative days with fellow presenter Nigel Clarke. The show involves Gemma interacting with mums and their young children, reading stories, dancing and singing songs. The former Hollyoaks and Casualty star, who met Gorka when they starred on the 2017 series of Strictly, says being a mum was the perfect preparation for her latest TV role. Speaking to Mother and Baby, she said: ‘I have just tried to be as I would be with Mia. You treat the children as little people, listen to them, speak to them as normally as possible and let them have lots of fun. I showed Mia one of the episodes and she loved it – she was a little bit jealous of one of the little girls. ‘I took her down to the set before we started filming so Mia could be a little guinea pig. She loves dancing – obviously that’s from her dad – but when music comes on, she’ll have a bop.’ Gemma regularly shares her ups and downs of parenting life on social media, mainly to her two million Instagram followers. Last March she revealed Tiago had picked up an ‘ear infection’, while in December last year she hit back at mum-shamers accusing her of ‘spreading misinformation’ for weaning her son when he was just four months-old. She wrote: ‘That’s why I always say ppl should do their own research. ‘I spoke with a private baby physio who told me that the sitting up with no support is down to a baby’s weight & size, not food related at all, hence why they all do it at different stages.’ Gemma, who also hosts a show on Hits Radio, also responded to criticism by social media users after discussing daughter Mia love of CrossFit, when she was just two years-old. She wrote: ‘I received this message about Mia loving CrossFit and the ‘should be watching kids’ programmes’ baffled me a little.’ ‘One of our friends is one of the best CrossFit athletes in the world and whenever she stays with us, Mia has looked at her in awe of her physical strength, her capabilities in regards to gymnastics etc…’ Gemma added: ‘We also go for ice creams and have pizza every weekend and pick’n’mix at the cinema. Fab lollies after tea and pancakes on Sundays. ‘I am personally very happy that Mia loves sports and that she has strong role models and she CHOOSES to watch the games. ‘I am sick of watching it to be honest.
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