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Madelyn P Graves
Mr. Jim Rogers
Government, Period V
22 October 2015
Mandatory Parenting Classes
Parents are the ultimate role models for children. Every word, movement and action has
an effect. No other person or outside force has a greater influence on a child than the parent,
Bob Keeshan American actor and television producer. Unfortunately parents are not always the
best role model for their children. Far too often children fall victim to the negligence of their
parents. Approximately one-third of telephone hotline referrals are re-referrals of the same
families from the previous year (California Department of Social Services). A change needs to
be made in the way that the government handles children the Child Welfare System to help limit
these shocking numbers. So many children are filtered through the Child Welfare system daily
and many are then returned to their broken home only to repeat the process again creating a
looping cycle. Many of these homes could be fixed if parents had an education about the children
they take care of. It is because of the general lack of knowledge in new parents that parenting
classes should be mandatory for all people who become guardians to children, including but not
limited to birth parents, adoptive parents, and legal guardians. Parenting classes would provide
information on how to take care of babies and children, learn about the financial challenges of
raising children, and proactively keeping kids out of the foster system.
One thousand one hundred and twenty four children die from neglect each year. Of that
number eighty one percent are under the age of three. This number is shocking because a large
majority of these deaths are accidental. Things such as drowning, shaking, and suffocating.

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Simple procedures can be put in place to prevent these things from happening. Important first
steps are defining the problem, identifying risk and protective factors, understanding
consequences, and developing prevention strategies (Covington, 2013). With the implement of
prevention strategies such as parenting classes the death rate in babies is sure to drop. In addition
36.4 percent of young people are abusing drugs and alcohol. That is roughly 11 students out of
33 students in an average high school class (Monitoring the Future). While these numbers will
never shrink down to nothing they are capable of decreasing exponentially. One effective way to
lower the chance of a child abusing illegal substances is through parental communication. The
type of communication used has a great effect on how adolescents will react. For example,
parenting style is widely categorized into four main categories, authoritarian, permissive,
neglectful, and authoritative. Authoritarian parents discipline children based on bad behavior
and offer little praise for good behavior. Permissive parents are simply happy with anything their
child does and shower them with praise even when they dont deserve it. Neglectful parents have
a general lack of interest and concern for their childrens lives often leaving children feeling
unimportant. Authoritative parents praise good behavior and discipline bad behavior while
explaining why there actions were wrong.
Regardless of the developmental outcome examinedbody image, academic success, or
substance abusechildren raised by authoritative parents tend to fare better than their
peers. This is certainly true when it comes to the issue of underage drinking (Parenting to
Prevent).
A childs future is dependent on the way they are raised so many parents would benefit from
simply knowing that this information is available to them and in turn we would have a stronger
next generation.

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Parenting classes could be expanded to include financial information about the cost of
raising a child. Being educated on the cost of raising a child is incredibly important and should
be considered heavily before parenting actually begins. Parents need the skills to make a plan
and formulate a budget that can accommodate at least a conservative dollar amount in raising a
child. A middle-income family with a child born in 2013 can expect to spend about $245,340
($304,480 adjusted for projected inflation*) for food, housing, childcare and education, and other
child-rearing expenses up to age 18. Costs associated with pregnancy or expenses occurred after
age 18, such as higher education, are not included(News Release). While having children is a
basic human right children deserve parents who can provide a reasonably stable economic
environment. In 2013, approximately 10.9 million school-age children 5 to 17 years old were in
families living in poverty (Children Living in Poverty). Poverty effects children on a multitude
of negative levels. They can range from physical to emotional or somewhere in between. The
stress that poverty puts on children extends far past adolescents and into adulthood. It affects the
successfulness a child will think they can achieve.
Children raised in poverty rarely choose to behave differently, but they are faced daily
with overwhelming challenges that affluent children never have to confront, and their
brains have adapted to suboptimal conditions in ways that undermine good school
performance (Teaching with Poverty in Mind).
The detrimental effects that poverty can have not only on families but on children individually
deserve to be talked about so that parents can make the best educated decision about how their
child should be raised.
Mandatory parenting classes are the next logical step in proactively preventing children
entering the foster system. Children fare best in a two parent household with true parents.

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Though a great in between stop foster care is not a home for children and should only be used
when no other option is available. There are currently more than 70,000 children that come in
contact with the foster care system every day (Facts at a Glance). being removed from a once
permanent home and put into a between place like foster care makes children feel neglected or
unwanted. Currently the government works reactively by investigating wrongdoings as they are
reported. This is not an effective manner for dealing with such a serious problem. Though some
neglect and abuse will always be inevitable, the best way to prevent future wrongdoings or
prevent wrongs from being committed at all is to educate parents not only about what to expect
with their children but what the consequences for their actions are and how their actions affect
their childs development studies show that children in the Foster system have a level of
education that is below the average for those children in comparable situations. Foster children
tend to perform at a below average level that is also below their capacity for learning and
development. Many do not attend college but instead attend a vocational school or have no form
of continued education. Family foster care settings were more beneficial to kids than group
homes, in addition there is a direct correlation between the age a child is at the time of
admittance and the number of years of school they attend (What We Know About the Future).
Simply dealing with cases as the come is not good enough for Americas youth. Every child
deserves a chance to go to school and perform confidently at the level of their peers. This goal
will never be achieved if our government remains reactive. Proactivity is necessary in order to
see a positive change in the youth of our country.
While many people are in favor of mandatory parenting classes, there are some who do
oppose the idea. A common argument against required parenting classes is that it restricts parents
from rearing their children the way they please. While every parent has a right to privacy and

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free choice while raising children parenting classes do not take this freedom away. Parenting
classes provide information and teach new parents about the kinds of struggles they will face
over the course of raising their kids. For almost every job that Americans have they need certain
credentials. When applying for a job, many companies require a college degree, even at a much
lower level licenses are needed to fish, hunt, drive, and many other things. Parenting, the most
difficult and rewarding task of all deserves the respect that Americans give to these other less
important tasks. A fishing license doesnt restrict a fisherman from practicing handed down
traditions and fishing in an old favorite spot it simply provides a base so that all fisherman can
practice their sport in harmony. The same goes for parenting classes they do not enforce strict
rules but provide general knowledge that is beneficial to all families. The California judicial
branch says, Taking a parenting class may help you understand how to best parent your
children (Adoption). Another reason that some people oppose mandatory parenting classes is
because parenting is not something that needs to be taught it is instinctual. Raising children is
something that is engrained in our DNA and therefore parenting classes are deemed unnecessary.
While this may have been true thousands of years ago when people were a lot more primitive
this is not the case now. Humanity has grown to be very complex and the issues that parents and
children face today are not as simple as they used to be. Parents cannot fix their problems on
their own. Approximately one-third of telephone hotline referrals are re-referrals of the same
families from the previous year (State of California). These numbers prove that parenting is not
instinctual and that in a modern world a solid education is needed to prepare parents for the
daunting challenge of raising a child.
In conclusion, parenting classes would greatly benefit the American people. Education is
an invaluable resource and providing it for new parents would greatly improve the quality of life

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for all parties involved, both parent and child. Having a program that is reactive in terms of child
neglect and abuse is no longer good enough. Our nation needs to be proactively working towards
protecting our children before they can be put into harmful situations. Mandatory parenting
classes are the best next step for the American peoples child welfare program.

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Works Cited
Schnitzer, P. G., Covington, T. M., Wirtz, S. J., VerhoekOftedahl, W., & Palusci, V. J. (2008).
Public health surveillance of fatal child maltreatment: Analysis of 3 State programs. American
Journal of Public Health, 98(2), 296303.
"Monitoring the Future 2012 Survey Results." Monitoring the Future 2012 Survey Results.
National Institute on Drug Abuse, 25 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"Parenting to Prevent Childhood Alcohol Use." Parenting to Prevent Childhood Alcohol Use.
National Institute of Alcohol and Alcoholism, July 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
"News Release." Parents Projected to Spend $245,340 to Raise a Child Born in 2013, According
to USDA Report. United States Department of Agriculture, Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
"Children Living in Poverty." Nces. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.
<https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cce.pdf>.
Jensen, Eric. Teaching with Poverty in Mind: What Being Poor Does to Kids' Brains and What
Schools Can Do about It. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2009. Print.
"Facts At A Glance." PsycEXTRA Dataset (2001): n. pag. Web.
"What We Know About the Future." European Futures (2000): n. pag. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
"Adoption." - Adoption_famlaw_selfhelp. California Judicial Branch, Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.courts.ca.gov/selfhelp-adoption.htm>.
State Of California -- Health And Human Services Agency, and Gray Davis.DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL SERVICES: n. pag. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.
California Department of Social Services, Research and Development Division. 2000 Case
Dispositions.