ANSWERS: 25
  • Absolutely not. There is no way I or anyone else should be forced to listen to how someone else thinks I should raise my own child. Kids have never come with an instruction manual, and I don't think they should. SOME parents could use a little basic training, in things such as "this is when to freak out and call the doctor, and this is when to wait until morning". That's why we have books. ... And those classes would have been a great waste of time for me, as well as a great many other first-time mothers. Just because we have not previously carried a child in our uterus does NOT mean that we have no experience dealing with children. Mandatory classes would be a huge expense, and largely useless. I agree with the idea of having some AVAILABLE, if one felt they needed them - but don't make me sit in a four hour class teaching me how to read a rectal thermometer. I can do that on my own, thanks. For that matter, who would be the sponsor of those classes? The classes I've seen already on offer are sponsored by infant product companies and drug companies. You're not going to get a whole lot of information on breastfeeding from a formula company, nor any unbiased information on whether to vaccinate from a drug manufacturer. I'd like to add - how would this "mandatory" class attendance be enforced? Would you, say, require parents attend the class, and forbid them from giving birth in the hospital if the signed certificate of completion is not on file? We'd see a wonderful influx of home births - planned and unplanned. Unfortunately, while home birth is a very safe, viable option for many women, those who give birth outside of hospital without being prepared for the matter are at a great risk for postpartum complications and infant mortality. Perhaps then, you could pass a law stating that home birth would constitute child endangerment, and all women giving birth outside of hospital and without parenting class certification would lose all parental rights, and be jailed as soon as medically possible. . Yes, this sounds like a glorious solution for all those young, inexperienced mothers. Perhaps multiple offenders should be forcibly sterilised as well, no?
  • I think two classes should be added at the high school level. I tried to get it started in our high school years ago with no luck. Both classes are now offered in my city's high school. One is a citizenship class that teaches seniors some basic laws because young adults get sued so often out of ignorance about the law (class is mostly civil law). The other is a marriage and family class that teaches some basics and the logical expectations of relationships, marriage, and parenting. Texas already has a required parenting class in their high schools. Florida requires a parenting class in order to get divorce. So parenting class requirements are already appearing across the country.
  • I've been advocating this for years! The dysfunction our parents instilled in us is not getting any better. We're handing down the same mistakes generation after generation. But I don't think parenting classes are enough! We need to start teaching this stuff BEFORE personalities are set in stone, usually by 6 years of age. We need this in schools, every year, starting YESTERDAY. +5
  • NO, because I think its mistakes and missed opportunities that make us who we are. I do believe that certain people should be sterilized.
  • I think parenting classes should be available to all - but for factual stuff like how to feed a baby, how to change a nappy, how to encourage development. I think there should be classes in what to do but not how to raise children - the instant you start allowing someone to take the moral highground on how to raise children we will see religion and other hidden agendas creeping in! Help should be available for new parents who need it, but plese, keep it to tangible assistance with chores that need doing!
  • Yes. I saw a big difference in my granddaughter after attending these classes. Its mandantory in some states, not in others.
  • YES and YES. Many teens who end up being parents end up neglecting or abusing their children because they "didn't know". Excuses are everywhere. Education is the most important aspecty of parenting. Do you know the stages an infant goes through, or an adolescent? Do you know how to tell if your child is developing at the same rate as other children his/her age? Do you know what to look for in case your child has some delays or would you just rather call him slow and let him/her get further and further behind so that by age 10 there is no hope for them? Do you know the age of acquisition for learning words or to read and when to 'work' with you rchild in these areas? Uhm, I am not telling you how to be a parent, but knowing how to raise a child so that mentally, physically and emotionally they are at their best is, I would hope, the goal for all parents. But of course we will always have those parents who trade in food stamps for liquor and alcohol and make sure their kids get fed once a day. But who says these people need parenting classes? Maybe all people should be required to pass a test before having children to ensure that they have at least some intelligence so we don't continue to raise kids who grow to be useless adults and a drain on society. q:)
  • Yes, as long as they were not taught by the government or any government organization.
  • The problem is not so much that parents need parenting classes, as much as society needs to roll back to a more conservative time. We need to stop this loose living where people just shack-up with one another. We need to stop this two income existence where the children are left to raise themselves. We need to throw out all that radical, pot smoking, thinking of the 60s and go back to the ideas of the 40s and 50s. Women need to be taught to act like ladies and boys need to be taught to act like gentlemen. We need to keep the courts out of parenting and abolish the ideas of all those liberal judges who think children have rights! Children should not be able to strike fear in their parents by threatening to call child protective services!... I will get off my soap box, now.
  • Whose standards do you use? The way I folded a nappy ( diaper) was different to my sisters method, which was right? which gets taught? It becomes a very sticky issues, do you teach all methods? How long would that take?
  • no....all children are different, and that choice should be free will. Who is to say their method of parenting is correct over everyone elses?
  • It's a nice idea for new parents to have some idea about what to do with the new baby (or new adopted child), but I am totally opposed to "mandatory" training requirements. They would probably have to be "government-approved" (and therefore more than likely run by the government) and for that reason alone I am 100% opposed.
  • YES! But I'm not sure who should be the instructor...a nurse who is a mom perhaps? They should teach basic skills...diaper changes, bathing, giving meds, dealing with colds/flu/diarhea/vomitting etc. I would have paid BIG BUCKS for that info. Especially how to sooth a fussy baby.
  • It's not a bad idea really - I wish they had some classes on this back 20 years ago - my wife and I would have used it.
  • I definately do. I have always been brought up to believe my parents were right but Im 27 now and I know that my mother is not always right. In fact, most of the time she is completely wrong for some of the hurtful things she says to me, my sisters and my dad. It has confused the life out of me and now I feel Im better without her. So your answer in some cases is definately yes!
  • I have to agree with that. but, alot of modren parenting is both good and bad. +4
  • Yes I think they should.
  • That would be nice but do people always grasp what they learn. It would be nice if you had to pay a penalty for getting pregnant so young or something it just is sad when kids can't take care of themselves and have one or more kids by the age of 20.
  • Yes people should have to pass a basic test and go through classes. As soon as a woman is pregnant she should have to go to prenatal education and the father should also be required to learn about basic children's need and how to discipline them. Yes we are supposed to be a free society but you lose that freedom when you act irresponsible and so far that all I see from people.
  • garster isnt a parent.....it is the only reason I can make sense of this train of thought. Maybe he will realise if or when he has children how screwed up it is to have someone regulate his level of parenting. Unless he is into that master and command type of lifestyle.
  • I think it is necessary because we need to instill pro-social behavior in our children. Some do not know how to do this and thi is reflected in current crime rates. Being a parent is not just about covering the physical necessities of children it is about teaching them how to be productive members of society. Pro-social behavior should not fall into religiosity, although, I don't see anything wrong if it were spiritual, after all, we are composed of flesh and spirit.
  • Yes. Or they should have to take a test and if they don't pass it the first time they should have to take the class, and take the test until they pass it.
  • Yes , I was put some rough times growing up and dealt with a lot of bullying in School and I had Father would verbally abuse me and my late Mother would take on his personality so yes them two needed parenting classes
  • Mandatory? NO! I'm tired of being told I HAVE TO anything! They should be offered, but optional and they are. Unfortunately most people don't take them until they are trying to get their kids back.
  • It should be taught in school at a young age.

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