To wish parenting courses and children's safeguarding courses were widely available and free to every one all the time?

[Falconi]

And maybe every parent should do both at least once?
I know it's unrealistic and probably expensive but it would do good to society and the next generation.
Obviously it would come hand in hand with all kinds of support for people with children and without....
INCLUDING ME.

Sight.
Let me get on with life and stop dreaming about a perfect world.

Are they not available then? I did one through Sure Start a few years ago. Cost me £20 though.

I agree, they should be available and free. £20 is a lot for struggling families and these are the sort of people who would benefit most from the extra support and advice given by the courses. I don't agree with every parent having to do it though, it should be an option rather than a requirement.

I did a free parenting course at Surestart years ago. I didn't pay anything, although I was on benefits so maybe they charged people who weren't.

The parenting courses are not widely available, and sometimes if they are already fully booked up, you have to wait for the next one and this could take loooong.
Safeguarding courses are usually available to professionals or volunteers only as far as I know and there is a cost.

Safeguarding is a professionals course though. If you are, say a teacher, this would be useful to spot a child who is on a dangerous path for whatever reason (abuse or danger to others).

I've seen parenting courses run by the council for not very much money.

I've just finished a free parenting course through the council. had cake and everything was really good but maybe better for younger children than mine.

Have signed up for a teenage one for September.

Safeguarding I don't agree with - the reason it's professionals only is to try to stop dodgy people knowing what signs they would be looking out for.
I know this won't really work in practice but if it means 1 child is noticed then it has to be a good thing.

safeguarding isnt for parents though it is for people working with children and their parents adults in their life, i have done a few safeguarding courses , anyway there are lots of parenting and free courses around loads of people chose to do them some are advised I do agree it should be offered through some scheme or other

familylives.org.uk/how-we-can-help/online-parenting-courses/triple-p/
Free parenting courses ARE available even for those who can't attend surestart or communities first face to face provision due to working committments - see above.

www.virtual-college.co.uk/products/child-protection.aspx

Safeguarding courses are available at very low cost, and parents come into contact with enough professionals (from HV's and GP's thru to teachers) to get advice from if they have any concerns.

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. There's more info out there now on general parenting than at any other time in history methinks. The issue if you do have an issue is sorting thru the info overload to find the relevant bits.

This reminds me of the constant refrain that noone can cook like wot they did in the old days, despite the abundance of recipe books for those who can read, and TV celebrity chef demos for those who can't.

The thing is a lot of the people who would benefit from a parenting course think that their parenting is so magnificent that they wouldn't go for it.

Most people don't need parenting courses and safeguarding courses though. They have common sense and access to books and advice from professionals should they need it.

Parenting courses don't do anything to help people who can't be bothered to implement what they learn anyway, and those that can be bothered probably don't need the courses that much.

What's missing is free and accessible specialist courses for parents alike for children with SN's.

e.g. It's almost impossible in some areas to get on a safe restraint course if you are a mere parent - yet who is the one most likely to have to deal with the 2 am meltdown of a child/teen with extreme challenging behavior?

I have done a few Safeguarding courses and they are not designed for parents. They are for anyone who may work with children, young people and sometime vulnerable adults.
They tend to go through - What is abuse? Types of Abuse? Legal framework. Then organisation specific ways of handling disclosure and who to contact.

Parents would need a quite different type of course.

Parenting courses haven't seemed that hard to access around here. The school even runs one.