to think Parenting Vouchers Available From Boots Under Government Scheme is a waste of money

[McHappyPants2012]

HERE

with some benefits being cut, people possibably losing there home due to housing benefit new law ect would the money be better spent else where

I don't think it is a waste. Poor parenting skills are a national crisis and something needs to be done.

Did you have similar views about Surestart?

no, but there is alot of help and support out there already as you said sure start, baby clubs ect.

I actually think that parenting classes are a good idea. It would save the government millions that is spent on pupil exclusion units, young offenders, teenage pregnancies, drugs and drink problems, and the myriad of other schemes that only kick in after the horse has bolted.
Nobody thinks that antenatal classes are not needed or breastfeeding support for new parents.Why is assumed that just being a parent is enough to equip people with the skills needed to bring up happy, well-adjusted children?

I think there is a difference between the vouchers & surestart etc. Aren't these vouchers made for older children for example children that haven't got groups at surestart?

It's the first I've heard of it but I did hone in on the word discipline. Tbh as the proud parent of a stubborn and determined 20mo some classes featuring strategies for dealing with unruly toddlers ala supernanny could be helpful.

I assume that there will only be a cost if someone claims the vouchers. If they don't, there will be no cost to the taxpayer; if they do, we will all reap the benefits. Big upside potential, low downside.

There are lots of areas of support within the Big Society, for example through churches (financed through the church congregations) - but any one thing only reaches a certain number of people. This particular problem is too big for local churches to deal with on their own. They can chip away at it, but as values spiral, it is difficult to do all that is needed.

That is true Schoolsnightmare

Maybe schools could be involved more and it could be made universal so it didn't seem that particular groups were being targeted? But that would require money and the tories aren't really into universal policies are they?

I think the classes are a good idea but I don't think the parents who need them will be the ones who use them.

I think there is a difference between the vouchers & surestart etc. Aren't these vouchers made for older children for example children that haven't got groups at surestart

No they are for under 5's.

The parents that need these are not going to take them. Parenting classes were offered across Children's Centre's, the most beneficial one's had poor attendance, even with a creche provided.

We need to keep Centre's and Surestart schemes open and gobackto the original funding, that they were there for all to use.

I would like to see some parenting classes offered for parents of children approaching their teens.
I have found this very difficult, despite being a very experienced and well qualified nursery nurse.
Maybe if i had had access to some support in the form of 'what to expect from your teenager and how to handle them' classes DD wouldn't have ended up pregnant at 14 and having to go through the trauma of a termination.

These classes are a 'business' opportunities.

www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/

I would like to see some parenting classes offered for parents of children approaching their teens

There are in some areas, 'Time out for Teenagers' is one, but tbh, i have done these and they are not always helpful.

I think they are a waste of resources even thought I usually agree with a lot of proposals. I'd like to see the money spent on more HV and social workers. The type of parents these vouchers are aimed at simply wont claim them in the main.

Oh. Would have been handy to have them set up for parents of teens. There's so much help for parents of kids till they hit teens.

Churches do Parenting Teens courses.

It doesn't all have to come from the nanny state government.

But if the government want to give vouchers for private sector courses, I am all for that.

I don't agree that this will fail automatically fail to reach all that need them. Not all parents of 'out of control teenagers' for want of a better phrase, are feckless and uninterested, I'm sure there are plenty who ate just a bit overwhelmed by the challenges of having older children.

YANBU.

Claire - SureStart? Is that the thing which designed for the mere plebs more disadvantaged but which has a high uptake by the middle classes or am I thinking of something else?

If, as the report says, this is Dave's attempt to tackle the riots, it would be better to target teens/pre-teens. Agree with Emmielu

I think in theory parenting vouchers are a great idea but I do tend to agree that there is a distinct element of self selection when it comes to who will actually attend the classes. A Telegraph article states: "Ministers hope the voucher scheme will make them 'as normal and pleasant as going to a cookery or line-dancing class'. For this to happen, however, they need to be taken up with enthusiasm by precisely the kind of parent who least needs help."
I'm not sure if many of the parents that need this the most will be the kind to take up cookery and line-dancing, especially if they are struggling to support their families financially in the first place.

I thought sure start already did free parenting classes. They did in my area until the funding got cut.