Parenting classes 'are not sign of nanny state' in Britain

Prime Minister David Cameron defends the classes, which will provide 'regular, relevant and tailored' advice to expectant and new parents, including how to bathe a newborn.

By

Agence France-Presse

Fri, May 18 2012 at 5:52 AM

Photo: Didier Pallages/AFP

LONDON — David Cameron said free parenting classes are not a "nanny state" policy as he defended a raft of new initiatives targeting families this week.

The prime minister said it was ludicrous that people had to train before they were allowed to drive a car, but could bring up a baby with no practice at all.

He spoke as vouchers for £100-worth ($158) of parenting classes went on offer to parents of children aged up to 5 in three trial areas around the U.K.: Middlesbrough, Camden in north London, and High Peak, Derbyshire.

The National Health Service is also launching a new video and text advice service for parents, while subsidized relationship sessions will be piloted from July.

The initiatives were launched nine months after riots swept across England last summer. Ministers blamed the violence on a breakdown of family discipline.

Cameron called parents "nation-builders," saying: "It's through love and sheer hard work that we raise the next generation with the right values." Parenting and families were "big gritty issues," he said.

He said the government was not acting as a "nanny state," but as "the sensible state."

"It's ludicrous that we should expect people to train for hours to drive a car or use a computer, but when it comes to looking after a baby we tell people to just get on with it."

The prime minister said he would have loved more advice when his own children were babies, adding: "We've all been there when it's the middle of the night, your child won't stop crying and you don't know what to do."

The vouchers are available from high street chemist Boots and from health professionals.

If the program, known as Can Parent, proves successful it could be extended throughout England and Wales.

The NHS's new text and email service will target those expecting a baby or who are in the first month of parenthood.

The service is designed to provide "regular, relevant and tailored" advice to new parents. It will include videos of midwives demonstrating how to bathe a baby, as well as advice from other parents.

Subsidized relationship support sessions will also be piloted from July for all expectant parents and those with children up to the age of two.

The project will be tested in York, Leeds, North Essex, the city of London and the London boroughs of Hackney, Islington and Westminster, with up to £1 million ($1.6 million) made available for the trial up to March 2014.

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Comments: 2

Tarrant May 22 2012 at 2:16 PM

My daughter had her baby last week in Hawaii. She had to finish some newborn video classes and to go to a parenting class with her husband before they let them leave the hospital in addition to sessions with the lactation consultant. She also had one prenatal parenting class. On one hand it seemed a bit ridiculous to me as a now grandmother-since I hadn't had to do such things and because I know my daughter has a lot of support, books, and the Internet to answer questions and lend a hand. On the

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other hand, I think it is a really good thing. Classes before baby is born make even more sense. With smaller families and scheduled out the ears children, our teens and young adults may never even change baby until they have their own. That is not including the really difficult parts of parenting! They don't babysit. They don't tend siblings or cousins

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Chinthani Perer... May 21 2012 at 11:59 AM

This is a great idea as in today's world, unless one is lucky enough to have a grand parent or a relative to help when you bring your baby home, new parents are overwhelmed and no longer have a 'village' to raise their child. These classes will lead to lower rates of post partum depression in new parents and in return will bring more support into their exisiting partnerships, careers and managing a household. All good as it is all for maintaining a healthy, happy and safe environment for our children.

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Although a British Mom to twins who were born in London, we now reside in Manhattan. In the US, the State does not offer any post natal care or any subsidies to cover the cost of 'private' parenting classes, nor any home visit for when you bring your baby home. So, unless you can afford a Doula/Baby Nurse for rates starting from $25/hour, you are literally, on your OWN. Chinthani Perera-Lunemann Owner and Founder of Mom to Moms Advisor Llc

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