Thread: Do you think Parenting classes should be required in school?

There are certain courses in high school that are mandatory. English, math, physical education, and science are among them. Many schools also mandate some sort of computer science class. If we have all of these required classes, why on earth isn't "Parenting" a required course?

I know that not all people plan on becoming parents, but leaving it as an elective isn't doing much. Most of the people who pick the course are people who are interested in child care and already know a lot about it. The people who need this course aren't taking it. Think of all the problems we could head off if people were taught properly!

There are basic things about child care that many people are totally oblivious to. It would solve a lot of problems if in your junior or senior year of high school, you were taught things like child nutrition, proper toys for certain age groups, how to hold a baby, etc. You'd be amazed how many parents mean well but have no idea about some of these things.

For example, I know a couple who left their child with a teenage babysitter. The baby had colic and was crying constantly. The girl became frustrated and shook the baby. Because babies have very delicate blood vessels in their brains which can rupture when the baby is shaken, the baby died. This is commonly known as Shaken Baby Syndrome. According to the National Center on Baby Shaken Syndrome, "In America last year, approximately 1,200 - 1,400 children were shaken for whom treatment was sought. Of these tiny victims, 25 -30% died as a result of their injuries. The rest will have lifelong complications."

Do you honestly think ALL of those mothers wanted to kill or brain damage their babies? Some of them undoubtedly meant harm, but I'm willing to bet that most of them were extremely frustrated and were ignorant concerning the side effects of shaking a baby. This is the kind of thing that could be avoided if people were taught about the side effects.

Also, we could significantly reduce the number of premature babies if mothers were made aware of proper pre-natal care. Many babies are born with folic acid deficiencies. This can be easily taken care of if the mother regularly drinks orange juice during her pregnancy. The March of Dimes has a list of ways to reduce the risks of premature labor. Many women simply don't know that what you do while you're pregnant is just as important as what you do after the child is born.

Another problem that could be solved is discipline. Many parents either become abusive in an attempt to discipline their children or they are so clueless about how to control their child that their child becomes insufferable. Parenting classes could easily teach non-violent methods of punishment and how to maintain consistency when punishing your child so that they will know how to behave. Simply developing a system of discipline (such as taking away one of the child's toys for a week every time they misbehave) can work wonders when it comes to disciplining your child. Students could also be made aware what constitutes abuse and shown how not to discipline a child.

I know that no matter how hard you try there will still be horrible, abusive parents out there, but a lot of bad parenting is borne of sheer ignorance. Many things are just common sense, but rest assured that common sense isn't all that common. You can't expect people to magically know how to be a good parent. Like other skills, it must be taught and practiced.

Raising children is such a vital and important part of most people's lives. I fail to see why we are mandating things like computer science or geometry while completely ignoring a subject that most of us will actually use.

i think that is a great idea... except that it shouldnt be required for graduation...

Oh, I've heard about this. It was discussed on an excellent program called The Wright Stuff (for UK people, Channel 5, 9:30am-10:30am).

I'm honestly completely on the fence on this one. On the one hand, I agree that being a parent is harder than ever before, and some parents could certainly do with some guidance. On the other hand, the trouble parents who this is supposed to target won't show up if it's voluntary, simply because they don't care.

Also, one aspect of this is in relation to ASBO's and such - and this assumes that parents are somehow responsible for their child's unruly behaviour. Undoubtedly this is true in some cases, but kids are sometimes just little shits.

So, my solution is this. To target the parents who need help, put more funding into things such as Citizen's Advice Beaurau's (sp?), or at least some organisation that allows parents to easily gain information. As for targeting kids and so on.. start with getting rid of the "crime because of boredom" lot by building youth centres, or something that can entertain kids on rough estates and so on. And for the rest? More police funding and more police rights. It's a start, is it not?

it is a start, but i like to question "the future starts with the kids" ideaology. the future starts with the parents. parenting practices are the only known factual deterrent of crime. policing, rehab, and harsh sentencing have done nothing to deter crime. there is a theory out that says for 1 murderer sentenced to execution, 8 other potential murderers are deterred for the same crime. but this is an iffy proposition.

so train the parents to BE THERE for the kids, and crime goes down. in the US, it is statistically proven that parents who are involved in their children's lives will less likely raise a juvenile delinquint than a parent who is not interested or there for their kids. with parents who take interest in their child, the child has less opportunity to commit crime for fear of letting down the respected parent, and the child has self-respect, and has less will to commit suicide.

japan, on the other hand, has the lowest crime rates, but the highest suicide rates. this is because japanese life is monitored by family, teachers, and the gov't with no individualism or freedom whatsoever. the youth has no chance or free time to commit crime, but b/c of these restraints, suicide is the popular option

if action is taken, it should be a mandatory course of study. only the people who care about either extreme of the situation will attend an optional course on parenting. and the future starts now, with everyone, not just the kids of today

"it is a start, but i like to question "the future starts with the kids" ideaology. the future starts with the parents."

Hmm.. I'm wary about sweeping generalisations like that. Of course, in most cases, the presence of a loving family during a child's development is a big deterrant to crime and whatnot in later life. But I hesitate to place all of the emphasis of a child's behaviour on the parents. It's a fact that sometimes kids are just assholes.

"so train the parents to BE THERE for the kids, and crime goes down. in the US, it is statistically proven that parents who are involved in their children's lives will less likely raise a juvenile delinquint than a parent who is not interested or there for their kids. with parents who take interest in their child, the child has less opportunity to commit crime for fear of letting down the respected parent, and the child has self-respect, and has less will to commit suicide."

On the first point - yes, juvenile crime goes down, but it isn't ELIMINATED. Like you said yourself, the parents are less likely to raise a juvenile delinquant, but it's not 100%. Parenting classes would certainly aid the problem of juvenile crime, but there has to be something there also for the kids who simply will not listen.

"if action is taken, it should be a mandatory course of study. only the people who care about either extreme of the situation will attend an optional course on parenting. and the future starts now, with everyone, not just the kids of today"

Well yeah, I agree with that. If you're going to do these classes (which I think overall I slightly disagree with), make them mandatory for parents, say, who are under watch by Social Services. Making them completely voluntary won't really make much of a difference to extreme cases of juvenile crime.

to your first point, the child's behavior may not be at all affected by parenting, and that doenst matter. a parent brings a child into this world, so that parent or the adoptive caretaker should be 100% responsible until the child is of legal age. if a child in the US commits a crime, the parent legally pays for it. so the average parent should do all he/she can to deter delinquency and stunt crime growth patterns where they start- the kids.

there is no way to put crime out completely, it will always be there for some people are born bad. but parents need to do more to protect and better raise their children, broken families and workaholics are damaging our society these days

The only reason parents are kept responsible for their child's behaviour is because there's no way to define in which case it's the parent's fault and which case it's the child's. I agree that parents should be made responsible for their kids but this is being advertised like it's going to completely, or even significantly, reduce juvenile crime, and I really can't see it being that effective. If they're really going to target youth crime, there's far more effective things that could be done.

And as for the broken families.. again, that's a bit of a generalisation. If the family's broken up because the mother escaped from an abusive father, would you argue that that's destroying society? I'd say it's a damn good step in the right direction.

there needs to be some kind of program to help aid parenting skills. ive witnessed the "tragic circle" in my life where an abused household scars a kid who becomes a father and swear to never abuse his kids. he ends up getting drunk and beating his wife instead... these people need help because as times change, crimes become more violent and more rage-induced, so some sort of program or lesson plan of parenting and problem solving need to be generalized and made unfied for the average home. this way, we can manipulate the housholds to become friendly, healthy, and productive.

the idea is quite farfetched, but if achievable, what a great risk to take. if the program fails, live and learn, but why live to say "what if"?

This was my point about giving more money to the Citizen's Advice Beaureu - not only does it aid mothers looking for advice, it can also aid the offshoots like domestic violence and so on.

great idea. ill have to discuss this more at a later date, time for me to go study for some school stuff tomorrow and cath the nightly news