Parents shoulder the most challenging responsibility that raising children to be a helpful and productive member of society, and some people would, therefore, argue that we should have compulsory parenting courses for all adults to help them with this vital mission. Personally, I completely agree with this view.
In my opinion, it would be wrong to continue to allow parents to develop their own parenting style. Most adults learn the ways of raising children from their parents, from a neighbourhood, or simply from common senses. These approaches have existed for thousands of years, and so they are likely to become outdated and unsuitable as society has been changed dramatically in recent years. For example, the trend toward democratic globalisation is likely to cause children to feel entitled to be treated equally, whereas the old-fashioned style of parenting often encourages parents to be authoritarian. As a consequence, the needs of children would be constantly unmet, and this would fail to prepare children for an increasingly complex world.
There are several benefits that parenthood preparation courses can bring to both adults and children. Firstly, these courses would provide parents with far more effective parenting models as helping them to develop a greater understanding of various stages in childhood development. For example, parents would be taught to create mutual support and cooperation within the family rather than imposing punishments whenever children misbehave. Secondly, these courses would give parents an opportunity to share feelings and experiences with other parents of children at the same age and stage. I would, therefore, believe that having compulsory parenting courses are extremely necessary for prospective parents.
In conclusion, I do not believe that parents should continue to raise children independently and by their own ways; and if all parents attended parenting education programmes, it would create more desirable outcomes for our society.