A Plumstead mum has started a petition to cancel a "cruel and disrespectful" new Channel 4 programme.

On August 20, Ch 4 will be airing a new show called 'How to train your baby like a dog', which encourages parents to adopt the same techniques you would use on an animal, but on your child.

Emma Dalmayne, who started the petition, is a Plumstead mum who runs the group, Autistic Inclusive Meets, which helps give support to those who need it most.

Emma told News Shopper: "I set up the petition on Monday after a woman sent me the link to the show and I couldn't believe it, something needed to be done."

The show explores a "new approach to parents struggling with their child's behaviour', using techniques like 'clicker training'.

Clicker training is used to train dogs so that when they hear the clicker they know they can expect a treat for good behaviour.

An advocate of this approach is renowned dog trainer and animal behaviourist Jo-Rosie Haffenden, who appears on the show.

Instead of telling kids what not to do, she believes in motivating and helping them to understand what "to do".

Since Monday the petition has been signed by more that 15,000 people, and Emma has received both good and bad feedback.

Emma said: "I would like to see concerns raised at least, I know they are not likely to cancel it but we need to let them know that they have made a bad choice.

"Would they air a programme called 'How to train your wife'? No, so why should they target small children."

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In the petition Emma says: "Children are not dogs!"

She explains that clicker training has been used before in behavioural therapy and used on autistic children, however it has been shown to cause PTSD in adults who were once subjected to it.

If you would like to sign the petition - click here.

Emma said: "We here at Autistic Inclusive Meets, an autistic led organisation based in London ask CEO Alexandra Rose Mahon of Channel 4 to consider that this dehumanising to children, that it should not be given a platform and to consider cancelling the airing full stop.

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"The children are shown no dignity or respect in clicker training behaviourism, and will be a prime target for grooming in the future as they will have been taught to comply to an adults demands, regardless of their own comfort or autonomy for reward."

A Channel 4 spokesman said: "The programme explores a new approach to childcare, grounded in positive, science-based motivational techniques that are used widely by parenting coaches and animal behaviour experts.

"Throughout filming and broadcast, the welfare of all contributors in the programme is of paramount importance and the process is supervised by qualified child psychologists."