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Parenting Education is essential in present day world

Parenting Education is essential

Most parents will agree that parenting is the most difficult job of their life. We all agree that raising our children well is the most important goal of our life, more important than even our career. But for many people, parenting can be very frustrating and heartbreaking. The reason for this is that there is very little formal training for this task, and parents are often left in the lurch without any adequate support network. Many people think that good parenting is inborn in all of us. There is no need of any parenting education. But studies have proved otherwise.

A 1990 study by several youth organizations of the U. S. has found that today’s youth face many problems, the number one solution of which is better parenting. One of the factors that lead to substance abuse among teens is family management problem. A study commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts, states that parenting education can strengthen a child’s ability to survive and succeed. Children raised in loving, caring, and supportive homes, where there are unambiguous and consistently reinforced rules, are more likely to be successful.  Most parents do not receive any training for positive parenting, yet they are expected to get it right.

Challenges faced by today’s parents

In the past if someone had any questions about child rearing they would get advice from family elders. Even now some parents have such support group near them, but many people do not have anyone to guide or help them. Our society and its norms are changing very fast. Changes in society have led to an increased feeling of detachment, both from extended family members and from our community. Many parents have to work for long hours in office, and find it difficult to spend quality time with their children. Many times, the advice given by elders no longer suits the current parenting style. Nowadays parents are expected to treat their children with dignity. Power and control techniques are no longer effective. As a result many parents are at loss on how to teach their children basic good values and raise them to be responsible adults. The infiltration of technology such as television, computers, and mobile phones has made the supervision of children more difficult. Parents find it difficult to know as to what is happening in their child’s life.

Parent education programs

Parent education programs help parents to improve their parenting skills. There are many parent training programs that cover the issues faced by parents, and help them in positive parenting. These courses help parents to understand the social needs of their children. Adults and children are considered equal in our society. Parents learn to develop skills of conflict management in these new social conditions. They are encouraged to promote independence amongst children and make them learn to accept responsibilities for their own actions. Parents are encouraged to notice positive behavior of their children instead of reacting to their negative actions. This positive reinforcement leads to strengthening of self esteem amongst the children. Regular communication between parents and children leads to development of better understanding between them.

How to proceed

Parents can enroll themselves in a parent education program. Most effective parenting classes are small personal groups that encourage interaction between parents and learning from each other’s experience. Many times several issues like time constraint, finding a class, or cost of the program prevent parents from joining these classes. If you consider that parenting classes are an investment in your personal growth and your child’s future, these are not as costly as you think. You will find that educating yourself in good parenting methods will help you in enhancing your personality as well. When parents learn to encourage positive behavior and positive emotions in their children, simultaneously they are learning it themselves. Thus such programs benefit not only the future generations, but also help in personal growth of parents.

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