Parents Need Compulsory Parenting Classes
Parents Need Compulsory Parenting Classes
The issue of raising children is one of the widely debated topics in all liberal democracies. It is believed that decisions pertaining childcare should be left to parents. However, the problem comes when parents fail in their parental roles or are involved in cases of abuse or neglect. The problem is becoming more common in today’s fast paced world. And with it has started a new trend - parenting classes. These classes promise to help out the parents who face difficulties in raising their children. Should classes be made compulsory for all parents?
Yes
• There is a problem of maturity in today’s generation. They are so much engrossed in their hectic lifestyle that they fail to pay attention to their kids and don’t even understand their priorities.
• Most of the newly made parents are living alone with no elders support and need proper guidance to raise their children.
• Attending such classes helps the parents to understand the behavior of child more properly. The parents can understand the emotional problems a child can face in life.
• Many a times children don’t speak about their problems but their actions speak but the parents are not able to catch them. Such classes highlight the children’s behavior under stress.
• Attending such classes allows the parents to interact with each other and discuss the common problems on same platform.
• The behavior of children in this age has changed with exposure to media, Internet and a more open culture. This at times makes it difficult for the parents to deal with the problem even when they have identified it. These classes can provide a solution to such problems.
No
• There is no one way for raising the children. All the people are different, families are different and one rule cannot be applicable to all the parents.
• There is an in-built responsibility within all the parents who very well understand what is good and what is bad for their children.
• The main problem is not with upbringing, the main problem is of time. Parents don’t need to take out time for classes but they need to take out time for their children.
• No one understands a child better than the parents and that understanding comes right from the time they become mother and father.
• Parenting classes have become just a trend and more of a business. There is no sense in following something blindly.
• If the parents really require help at some point in time, they can approach the professional counsellors. In fact, reading a good book on parenting can be quite helpful.
Conclusion
There is no harm if parents join some parenting classes. They will learn some constructive things in class. However, saying that they should be made compulsory is not justified. All the parents don’t need it. Moreover, the main reason behind all problems is lack of time. Parents should spend sufficient quality time with their children so that if they have any problem, they can open up without any hesitation. A certificate or classes alone can never make good parents.
Discussion
- RE: Parents Need Compulsory Parenting Classes -Deepa Kaushik (12/15/14)
- Parenting classes would be like any other profession. It would be good if we see that from the view-point of providing employment to few people, but making the same compulsory to all the parents would not be a decision so welcoming.
Upbringing the child is an art and the art and creativity are natural gifts that can’t be expected on the same line by every person. Every family have their own virtues, every home has its own principles, rules and regulation. No class can teach a parent on to work on a specific set of instructions.
Rather than calling a parenting class, it would be better if we can have the counselling for the would-be parents during the pregnancy term of the mother. We can focus on both the parents to make them aware of the usual expectations and emotions of a child. we also need to have the counselling centres set for guiding the parents who seek help to tackle the emotions and upbringing of their child at different ages of life.
India is slowly losing the joint family culture, where the young ones used to have the guidance of the experienced elders in the family. We cannot blame anyone for the nuclear family system prevailing, as it is the need of the hour. But we can definitely take the help of experienced old people to form the counselling centres and help the various young parents who are devoid of the supervision of the elders of their family.
A compulsory class would be more of a burden for the parents. Correctly said, if parents could allot some of their precious time for the kids instead of such classes, it would help them to bridge the gap to a large extent and many of the concerns could get sorted on themselves.
