Parenting lessons give parents the confidence they need to competently raise children. Most parenting lessons and courses are fuelled and taught by experienced teachers, and are supported by reputable scientific reports.
Parenting is an area in which there are no set instructions or manuals to direct parents on how to correctly raise their children, and there is no magical formula that will make the perfect guide. Of course, parenting is subjective, and parents are often the best judge of character of their own children, but why not take the advice of knowledgeable and experienced courses and teachers? People often fail to realize that most parenting lessons and courses are fuelled and taught by experienced teachers, and are supported by reputable scientific reports.
Source: www.avance-austin.org
Although many parents are hesitant to take parenting lessons, because they may feel it’s a reflection of their self-worth as parents, they often fail to realize that most parenting classes work to build upon skills, rather than teach completely new ones. The ideology that most parenting-education institutions try to encourage is that parenting courses aren’t created to help bad parents, but to improve the good parenting skills of most parents.
Especially for new parents, parenting lessons give parents the confidence they need to competently raise children. Having assurance and support from a group of parents and children also provides new parents with a source of feedback and assistance in the event they ever need help or advice. Just as with any other class or group, although it may seem intimidating at first, the group of parents can learn to support and learn from each other, and help ensure the success of each individual family.
Many parenting classes teach the significance of positive discipline and its influence on the development of their child. Learning to manage anger and channel it into positive reinforcement is an integral aspect of raising happy and healthy children. This is one example of a valuable skill that parenting classes teach parents that benefit both the parents and the children.
How do parenting lessons fit into the Early Childhood Development movement?
The first three years of a child’s life are some of the most important years in their development. In particular, brain development, which begins from the time the zygote is first formed, and continues well beyond birth. The way a child is raised in its early years has a significant impact on its mental development, not only during this period, but also throughout the rest of its life.
A child’s exposure to education in the early onset of its life will help shape its views and responses to education for the rest of its life. A child that is in a learning environment that is engaging and non-chaotic will stimulate the child and help them focus their energy and concentration on learning and playing.
Source: www.avance-austin.org
Parenting classes are often fuelled by scientific research in the field of early childhood development, and work to teach parents the most efficient and effective ways of helping their children grow and develop. More educated parents will make better decisions in the lives of their children, in turn improving the mental and emotional development of children in their early years.
What countries are taking action to support Early Childhood Education?
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has made headlines by announcing that he plans parenting classes for all families, not just low-income families or families in need of counseling and support. This stems from the idea that ALL parents, not just those from deprived backgrounds, need to learn how to parent properly, especially in the early years of their children’s life.
David and Samantha Cameron Photo: GETTY
By providing affordable and accessible parenting classes, the Prime Minister is hoping to encourage parents to take more measures to educate themselves on the science of parenting, and to learn from professionals what methods and approaches are most suitable for the development of their children.
The Prime Minister announced his plan in correlation with declaring that a £70 million investment in relationship counseling would be forthcoming in order to help prevent the splitting up of families. This (relatively) new emphasis on family support the Prime Minister’s goal of improving social mobility and reducing poverty, both of which can be accomplished by providing better support for families.
Families are the best anti-poverty measure ever invented. They are a welfare, education and counselling system all wrapped up into one. We all need more help with this €“ the most important job we’ll ever have – Prime Minister Cameron said,
And with that, he announced his plan to standardize and encourage parenting classes for families from all income levels and backgrounds. Hopefully, other countries will learn from the example the UK has set, and begin implementing Early Childhood Education and Development programs to aid families support children in this integral period of development.
