Parenting

[eblog1]

I am an OW and I offer my parents, both young and older, the opportunity to attend Parenting classes. The classes offer advice and ideas about different techniques for all types of issues and concerns the parents have, be it sleeping through the night, to weening, to managing troubling behaviour.
I was speaking to one particular mum and she was at the end of her tether. Her child's behaviour is both violent and disruptive and she has often been left with bruises and hand prints on her body. She came to me in tears at the end of a session, asking me for help. During our discussion she asked me the question ''Why isn't there a parenting class for Mums to be? If I knew what to do from the word go, I know I would be able to handle him."

It got me thinking - Why isn't there something like this on offer? We offer everything else but only once the child is here. Surely it would be a good idea to offer the classes to young mums to be, or run it through the school system somewhere? Not only will it benefit the parents, it might even put some of the teens off! Figures regarding teenage pregnancy would go down, the housing issue would lessen, as would the benefits system. It would have a massive yet positive impact on services all over the country.

Early Intervention would also benefit those who suffer mental disorders - giving them the confidence to feel ready to look after another being, as well as themselves. The amount of parents I work with that say they wish they'd stuck with one, or had at least one extra pair of hands due to lack of understanding of their child's behaviour and development, is silly!

Just a thought I would share outloud - Is it one to give 5 minutes thought to, or should I sweep this under the rug and vent to my husband instead?!