Have you gone to an antenatal program? Yes? Well you wouldn’t be alone; around 99% of women go to antenatal classes. On the other hand, have you gone to a postnatal class or ‘mother’s group’? No? Well you wouldn’t be alone in that answer either with studies showing only around 14% of all mothers attending some kind of class after their babies are born. Isn’t it funny, we focus all our attention on the birth itself but nothing is done after the baby is born. Is this due to the social view that giving birth is the hardest part of the job? That we can rely on our friends and family to get the job done? Or are we just not putting enough importance on these things due to our extremely busy and stressful lives? Parenting is not easy. Whether your child is 3 months, 3 years or 13 years there is no amount of help that is too much. If you take a look around, much like the cities have changed, the technology has changed, and our way of lives have changed, the behavioural problems that children display are different to those that we experienced as children ourselves.
It is impossible to truly compare the level of parenting in previous years to those needed in today’s world, but the seemingly increased stress levels of working parents only goes to show how difficult parenting is becoming.
Today’s families are extremely mobile and the advice and care that is usually given by extended family members is absent. With the breakdown of the extended family, parents are left without much help and left to cope with the roles of both an employee and a parent. Mothers are encouraged to return to work earlier and this result in a reduction of the very important and necessary quality time spent with their children. Sooner rather than later it seems the children are pushing towards that teenage independence and everyone is so busy in their individual lives that there is no time for one another. The pressures of earning a decent living to give your children the best in life, and the stresses of raising them while being the perfect parents is a task hard done for.
So what is the solution to these parenting woes? Referring back to the original question – have you ever gone to a postnatal class? Is the solution (or at least a big leap to today’s standard). Parenting programs are group sessions for all parents, not just those that are experiencing problems with their children. Through the parenting programs, parents are exposed to new and proven ways to help cope with all aspects of parenting. Don’t go it alone, contact a parenting program today and do the best you can for your child.
