Full Version: Government & parenting
My wife is a mental health therapist with adolescent teens. Some live at home and go to the facility for day treatment, but the vast majority also live at the facility. A large part of the problem has to do with dysfunctional interaction between family members. Simple conflict resolution skills and coping skills are appallingly low in many families. From this conversation, the wife asked me about what I would think about the government intervening by requiring parenting classes. We both recognized that it's a "no-go" area in the mind's of many people. People do not want Uncle Sam telling them how to raise their children. Having thought about it, here are the pro's and con's according to me.
Why would the government have an interest in this?
*High crime rates ultimately inflict a cost on property, lives, and other items of value
*Criminals are not good consumers, they are a drain on the economy
*Money that would normally be spent on therapy could go to other ways to drive our economy
*If Johnny "the thief" becomes Johnny "the CEO" we will all be better off.
Questions for debate:
1.)Should parenting classes be required of parents at the ages of 2,12, and 16 respectively?(or different ages for that matter.)
2.)Should it be the role of government to foster better relationships between family members?
3.)How has America's Debate affected your inner-child?
Why would the government have an interest in this?
*High crime rates ultimately inflict a cost on property, lives, and other items of value
*Criminals are not good consumers, they are a drain on the economy
*Money that would normally be spent on therapy could go to other ways to drive our economy
*If Johnny "the thief" becomes Johnny "the CEO" we will all be better off.
Questions for debate:
1.)Should parenting classes be required of parents at the ages of 2,12, and 16 respectively?(or different ages for that matter.)
2.)Should it be the role of government to foster better relationships between family members?
3.)How has America's Debate affected your inner-child?
1. Well, I don't think that parenting classes should be mandatory for everybody. Making them easily available, from public and private sources, and strongly encouraging them, would be fine. It would also be a good idea to make such classes mandatory when family conflicts lead to the involvement of law enforcement, as an alternative to punishment. (I'm not talking about serious crimes, of course, but minor offenses where parenting skills would seem likely to be of benefit.)
2. I'm not sure if this should be a "role" for government, exactly, as much as a service that can be offered to those who need it and who have no other sources for it. The government offers information on a wide variety of health issues, for example, and it seems reasonable for it to offer information on the very important issue of parenting.
3. I'll let you know as soon as I grow up.
2. I'm not sure if this should be a "role" for government, exactly, as much as a service that can be offered to those who need it and who have no other sources for it. The government offers information on a wide variety of health issues, for example, and it seems reasonable for it to offer information on the very important issue of parenting.
3. I'll let you know as soon as I grow up.
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