People should attend parenting classes before having a baby

Dear Jasse, Unfortunately you did not get my point. Your argument was that it is not right to oblige people follow certain rules wile raising their children as there is not a right or a wrong way to do so. But was it so difficult for you to understand that what is taught in these classes is not a law but some advice? Really, no one can make you apply what you have been taught, but why is it so bad for you to listen to some people who have more knowledge and experience on this issue? The purpose of these classes is not to make people "robots" as you said and impose them a certain way to raise their children but to help them form their own opinion on what is the ideal way FOR THEM to do so. I know that you are a very intelligent person and you really love your children but sometimes it is better for you to get some advice, listen to experiences of people who have already been parents and compare them in order to reach a conclusion about what is the best way FOR YOU to handle the same or similar situations, watch the results of a research while having the chance to ask some experts for details, clarifications or something you did not understand etc. Parenting classes are not a threat to the society but some help. We have to be thankful for that. " Determining the quality of parenting is completely subjective: I may believe my neighbour is a bad parent because he doesn't volunteer at his kids' school and gives ice cream to his kids once a month. Who's to judge what a bad parent is? I have to admit that you are partially right. I was a little bit vague. I was talking about the objective meaning of the word "bad". For example when a parent abuses his children he is objectively a bad parent. Of course, as you said, there is not a right or a wrong opinion and someone can support the opposite. But I challenge you to do a poll; Ask people if they think that abusing children is a good or a bad thing. I bet that if not everyone then the 95% of the participants will say NO. And when the percentage is so high then there is an objective opinion that it can also be characterized as a general truth and is not as subjective as you think. "The drunk dad who got abused as a child and abuses his kids? That's not a parenting issue resolvable with a few parenting classes. It would take years of psychological and financial support from the state to have a possible impact on the family.Classes would not make 'bad' parents good parents. People open to acquiring specific knowledge will seek it on their own." OK, you did not get my point too. I did not say that parenting classes would help people with psychological problems. I suppose that these people would not even attend the classes. ( And don't say that lessons are compulsory so everyone must come :1) I said that the first few lesson are mandatory 2)I don't think these people would be very interested in trying not to break the law) .But you know what? Those who cause problems to the society are not always desperate and abused teenagers who have got mistreated by their psychologically disturbed parents as you would like to believe. There are also children who have never been asked about where they go, who are their friends, what they do simply because their parents do not care. This way, they end up doing drugs, becoming thieves and murderers. There are also children who have been overprotected or over-pressured by their parents and one day they decide to leave their houses and this is when they meet gangs and become members. There are also girls who are pregnant or teens who have made something illegal and they do not return home because they are afraid of the reactions of their parents who had not developed a good relationship with them. There are a lot of reasons a children has ,voluntarily or not, a negative impact to the society. And if some of these parents had attend parenting classes then it would be better for both them and their children. You have to understand something: There are basic skills and knowledge that are vital to the health and welfare of all children. Unfortunately, this information is not always easily accessible to parents and parents-to-be. Making the first few parenting classes compulsory would be a way to ensure that everybody has access to basic skills and basic knowledge which can inform and improve their parenting.Sadly, cases of abuse, neglect and bad childcare resulting into harm are all but rare. In these circumstances, the state should use preventive methods, rather than just waiting for harm to happen and trying to find a solution.The individual needs and values of parents and child are important and are not threatened by parenting classes. Some basic information about childcare and what is good for children should be known by all parents, and integrated with personal ideas about childcare that parents may already have. As the BBC recognizes, "Love comes naturally to most parents, but everyone faces difficulties at some point or another - from babies who won't sleep at night and toddlers who throw tantrums, to unruly teenagers."* * BBC Parenting classes, BBC Health, 2011. "I assure you a one hour class will have no impact on my teenager's life. A single mom who spends her days high and drunk watching tv could spend years in counselling without changing so is her teenager's fate really going to change because of a few parenting classes she took 16 years ago?" Oh, my god! Again and Again the same arguments... I really hate being repeated but you make me explain again and again the same things... THESE CLASSES ARE NOT ONLY FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS OR THEY ARE ADDICTED TO SOMETHING!!! THEY ARE MAINLY FOR HEALTHY PARENTS WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR CHILDREN BUT AS RAISING A KID IS NOT A SIMPLE THING IT IS GOOD FOR THEM TO ATTEND THESE CLASSES FOR THE REASONS I MENTIONED IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH... I do not understand what is your problem.. this is some help provided by the government..Since you are not obliged to apply what you have been taught then why are you against parenting classes? Even if 1 person from 10 learns something useful for him which made him a better parent(objective meaning) then it is a benefit for the society. I do not understand; What will you gain if people will not attend parenting classes? The lessons are free and I think that they help a lot of people. Everything you know is good for you..The state should make the best to provide a better life to people. By making the first few classes mandatory then we will make sure that parents have at least been taught which is the recommended way to raise their children. If we think like you, then life skills should not be taught in schools as they are subjective and teenagers will not apply what they have learnt.. and it is true that some of the students do not do so but I suppose that the majority does or at least gains something. But even if nobody was interested in applying what they have been taught, schools would have to teach them life skills because you can not expect from someone to be a conscious citizen when he hasn't been taught how a conscious citizen should be.. It is the same thing; the society can not expect from someone to be good parent(objective meaning) when he/she has not been taught what a good parent( objective meaning) is.