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A headteacher and Government discipline tsar has said that youngsters who are at risk of falling into a life of crime and aggression can - and should be - identified as toddlers.
In a report which the Government is expected to give its backing to today, Charlie Taylor - pictured above with education secretary Michale Gove - says that children who are likely to 'go off the rails' should be sent to specialist behavioral units at the age of five to stop their bad behaviour worsening.
He said that a system needs to be put in place that is 'responsive to them and helps them to get back on the straight and narrow.'
Mr Taylor says the younger the children are, the easier it would be to tackle their behaviour, because it would be less ingrained. "If you can see it coming when they are two or three or four or five, then that's when we can intervene," he said.
Mr Taylor, who is the headteacher at the Willows School in West London, compiled his report in the wake of the riots last summer.
He has now called for special centres where children would learn how to control their anger and get on with their classmates before starting formal education. He suggests that from two, children could be given intensive help from expert staff outside their nursery, or even sent to specialist nurseries in extreme case. At five, disruptive youngsters could be placed in pupil referral units, which will become more closely linked to schools.
Mr Taylor said that children should be helped early 'rather than waiting until they are throwing tables around when they are 14 or 15'.
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What do you think? Do you agree or is two just too young to be identifying - and labelling - potential trouble makers?