Christina Brown
Guest Contributor
Interacting with children is a part of everyday life. Even if someone isn’t planning on having kids, basic skills are still needed so that they know how to interact with the children in their lives.
Parenting may seem like it is common sense, but it truly is a form of education that needs to be taken seriously. The world is filled with unfit parents who have the potential to be good parents, but are lacking the education that provides proper parenting skills.
Many pregnant women are uneducated about the prenatal care they need. Some even abuse drugs while pregnant, not knowing the harmful effects that their behavior will bring. This creates an unstable situation that babies are born into which only brings about more problems. According to the National Advocates for Pregnant Woman, “The majority of mothers using while pregnant aren’t mature enough or prepared enough to have a baby. Babies of mothers abusing drugs have potential for a healthier life if their mothers recover from their drug abuse and learn better parenting skills.”
Not everyone is born to be a parent. Many people think that parenting is common sense and that everyone can be a parent.
However, the achievement of being a fit parent isn’t that realistic. It takes a lot of time and work. That’s why parenting classes can help prepare students for the unexpected.
A lot of people shouldn’t have children or don’t know what it takes to have kids, which is why it is a good idea for schools to provide parenting classes. According to the the blog site Helium, “High Schools across the nation are filling up more and more with pregnant teenagers. Girls and guys who are going to be parents because of one or two mistakes that tons and tons of teenagers make every day.”
One solution can be parenting classes that use baby simulators to help give a realistic replication of having an infant. When I was in junior high school all students were required to use baby simulators as part of the Home Economics general education course. These simulators gave me a personal experience of dealing with an infant and it made me realize that being a parent is not as easy as it may seem. I struggled with the baby simulator, especially when I had to get up throughout the night to feed the baby. These simulators give students a realistic feel for having a baby and they can show students the effects of having a child rather then tell them.
Baby simulators are not the only helpful tool in parenting classes. Bringing in guest speakers can also be useful. Parents coming in to speak to students will give them expert information about what raising a child really consist of. In the state of Texas, parenting classes are mandatory in high school. One blog on the website Demure Thoughts explained the need for these classes stating, “Millions of your tax dollars are spent on caring for teen mothers and their children. Now the state is taking steps to prevent those pregnancies. A parenting class is now mandatory for all high school students.”
Parenting classes allow schools to kill two birds with one stone. It not only gives students the essential parenting skills that they need, but it also helps to reduce unwanted pregnancies.
In return these classes not only help out the students, but they also help society reduce the parenting issues such as teen pregnancy, child neglect, and child abuse. Many people make the mistake of parenting their children the same way that they were raised. I’m not saying that the way everyone’s parents raised them was wrong, but I feel that some people assume that the way they were raised was correct when in actuality it isn’t.
Many people who were abused as children tend to abuse their children because that is all the parenting techniques they ever learned. To help stop unfit parenting and child abuse, parenting classes can help to ensure that students gain proper parenting techniques that aren’t always physical, but more emotional so that they help to teach the child the differences between right and wrong.
Parenting is a life skill that everyone should possess. It is a basic part of life that is very complex and needs to be handled with care. It is up to schools to teach these much needed skills to its students in order to not only ensure more fit parents, but also to better society as a whole.
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