Some people say that to benefit the development of a child, the mother and father should take parenting classes. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

 

Some people say that to benefit the development of a child, the mother and father should take parenting classes. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

Why should one take parenting classes?

·   So that they can appreciate the intricacies (complexities) involved in a task as complex as child rearing 

·   They can also learn about how to behave, treat and also monitor their wards 

·   How to inspire, encourage, stop and also persuade their young ones without using force or retribution 

·  How to adapt to the changing needs of their children as they grow up 

 Why such a learning, is going to be futile, and hence not required? 

·   Parenting is an art that is grasped by observing and experiencing rather than reading about it in manuals

Several social theorists have started suggesting that to address the changing paradigm of child rearing, couples must enroll for courses in parenting to ensure effective negotiation of this complex task; nevertheless, there are others who feel that such learning will yield little productive outcomes. 

To start with, an army of people is quite enthusiastic about this proposal. Their optimism is based on the assumption that attending such sessions would help the prospective mothers and fathers to inform themselves about the intricacies involved in the task as complex as bringing the young ones up. This would go a long way in helping people to prepare themselves mentally for handling different stages in the life of a child, in other words, they would perform their duties as parents with zeal and keenness instead of harboring remorse.

However, there are others who are quite skeptical about the usefulness of such a practice. In their perspective, child upbringing is more of an art, than it is a science, that can be grasped only by having innate skills and observing others besides devising strategies on the basis of own experiences. Human nature is a complex combination of diverse traits, preferences and attitudes, making it unpredictable and even incomprehensible. This makes the possibility of learning about how to be a  good parent with the help of manuals and lectures, effectively quite bleak. To corroborate, a study carried out by Institute of Psychologists, MIT, reported that training courses in parenting were of little assistance to young parents who had to seek help from their elders to do this job.

Overall, I completely fail to subscribe to this suggestion since I feel rearing a child successfully is only possible if one uses their intellect and draws inspiration from others experienced in this task.