<And then a lot of those scarred adults are not able to break the cycle and they in turn
abuse their children. Maybe their should be parenting classes. Hey there are already
aren't there? How many here have ever attended a class on bringing uo children, or read
books on the subject? A show of hands please. BTW, I have read books. They helped,
but I take a back seat to my wife. It's her specialty.>
In San Francisco many parents take parenting classes. They are offered as extension courses by the local city college, and consist mostly of play groups for very small children, run by child development specialists. I remember having to observe my child and write a bunch of papers. Unfortunately, the parents who have the leisure time and interest to take these classes mostly are pretty good parents already. While they are helpful, they are really enrichment rather than essential.
One of the things our local school district is doing is involving extremely poor and uneducated parents in the classroom, starting at kindergarten. There are specialists there as well, to do some assessing of children particularly at risk. They work with parents in stressing the importance of providing a quiet, non-chaotic environment for homework, reading, good nutrition, and regular school attendance. Computers are also given to each child to take home for the school year, which involves the parents in becoming more computer literate. |
