Parenting is not easy, especially when you're a new parent with little or no experience. Combining duties of parenthood with your day to day activities at work and home can be difficult to balance.  But there is a savior in online parenting classes! They are designed to help parents understand their children and provide skills to help nurture them into responsible individuals. Taking online parenting classes is highly beneficial, whether you're experienced, new or single parents. It’s time to get rid of any anxiety and insecurity about your decisions and get ready for lessons that will help you gain confidence in your role as a parent.

To begin with, every age group can require a different parenting approach.  If you're a new parent you're advised on how to curb your anxiety and focus on practical issues like needs, health and safety that can help you safely raise your new infant. On the other hand, parents with teenagers are taught how to focus on building trust and ensuring discipline, and will learn techniques to help guide their children on the right path. Parents can also learn how to help their children stay away from drugs and overcome peer pressure.  An overriding key point is that parents understand how important it is to be a good role model.  It is imperative to be a good example for your children as they usually end up doing what they see their parents do. 

Parenting classes online provides ease in learning since they can be done from the comfort of your couch in your own home. You can complete your classes at a pace convenient for you and can drop-in and out whenever you’d like.  The best part is that alleviates the stress of trying to attend physical classes or meeting up with the classroom times and schedules. This is important for many parents because of tight modern day work and business schedules. You can pick anytime of the day for the classes; it could be during children's naptime or after they might have gone to sleep.

You don't have to travel to and from classes; this alone will save money you could have spent on gas. Online parenting classes only charge per client, which mean the two of you can sit together in front of the computer and take the class. You also don't need to bother about notes and textbooks as nothing needs to be printed out.  All the information is on the screen in front of you.

Online parenting classes are very engaging, interesting, and stimulating.  If you take them with your spouse they can be a basis for discussion and agreement on parenting styles.  If you have questions, a high quality course will have a licensed, practicing therapist available to contact during workweek hours.  Taking the classes while sitting together in the relaxed atmosphere of your home is a great way for couples to bond and grow their relationship.

Because there are no pre-published books to study from, material is cutting edge.  As the health care industry updates information based on research, online classes are able to quickly respond with updates in the material clients get on the computer.  Most online courses are usually court approved just in case there is need for parents to take them to fulfill legal mandates. Just be sure to check with your court system for this approval prior to enrolling. 

The number one piece of advice that psychologists repeatedly tell parents is that to insure a healthy relationship with children, listen and talk to them!  Communicating with our kids is the key to keeping a healthy relationship.  This takes time and to keep children on the right path, the best thing we can do is to be available for them.

Being available doesn’t just mean that you need to be in the house.  Working parents can have just as good a relationship with their kids as non-working parents.  It’s about paying attention to their likes and interests.  If your child is excited about a new band, then figure out who they are, what the music is and use this as a starting point for conversation.  If you show your children that you are interested in what is relevant in their lives, they will feel more connected with you. 

Try to be aware of when the best times to talk to your children are.  Some parents don’t like to carpool because they say that this time alone in the car is the best time to talk about things.  The kids aren’t distracted by homework, electronics or television and very often open up.  When they get in the car after school, don’t always start the conversation with a barrage of questions.  You might just get yes or no answers and be left unsatisfied.  Instead, initiate conversation with what you’ve been thinking about or doing that day.  This tactic can be feel more relaxed and get them talking.

Most importantly – listen!  Your child might get in the car everyday and start complaining about a list of things.  Don’t tune out, but instead listen carefully to what is bothering them.  Are they cranky because they’re just not getting enough sleep or is there a legitimate issue going on.  Don’t interrupt them.  Let them talk until they are ready for a response from you.  At this point, try to temper your response.  If you come across as abrupt, agitated or angry, they will shut down.  Take a deep breath and try to respond in a non-critical way, calm way.  Children will mirror your behavior, so if you start to act anxious by the conversation, this will most likely raise their stress level as well and in turn create an unstable, high-strung environment.  Your child might stop wanting to confide in you because of this negative behavior.

For many parents, sending children back to school at the end of the summer can be a stressful time.  Kids are anxious about seeing old friends, getting new teachers and what exactly will be expected of them.  Parents get anxious trying to meet all the new schedules of carpools and after school activities combined with whatever daily responsibilities they already have.  It may be difficult to think about adding one more thing into your schedule, but taking parenting classes can really help through difficult times.  You may be a seasoned parent, but quality courses are always beneficial because they are full of the most current parenting tips.  The teach how to best communicate with your children, what stage related behaviors to expect, how to set appropriate boundaries and rules and what the best ways are to offer rewards for good behavior.  Taking parenting classes online is perfect for those of us who are extremely busy.  All you need is an Internet based computer and you can take them from the comfort of your own home.  You can drop-in and out of the classes at any time during the day or night, whatever works best for your schedule.  It is a great way to refresh your parenting habits and gain confidence in how you are handling your kids.

Divorce rate statistics in the United States show that the breakup rate for a first marriage hovers between 41% and 50%.  The rate for second marriages is 60% and 75% and for third marriages it’s around 73%.  The children of divorced parents have a four times higher rate of getting divorced in their lifetime then do children of parents who stayed together.  Unfortunately as these numbers point out, not all relationships have storybook endings. Couples grow apart, fall out of love, have affairs or find that they are no longer compatible with each other any longer. The thought of divorce that would never have crossed their minds years ago is now a process that they have to go through to move on with their lives. 

The process of getting a divorce and creating two separate households is much more complex when children are involved.  Sometimes the kids may be thankful, after living through years of watching their parents argue and disagree about everything.  However, some children might be devastated by the news and think they have done something wrong to make this happen.  Most children will go through an initial period of shock, sadness, and anger.  They might also begin to suffer from low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. 

Once the decision has been made to follow-through with a divorce, parents should be hypersensitive to the feelings of their children.  During this period, parents are often stressed and angry and vent their feelings inappropriately in front of the kids.  Fighting about matters such as who gets primary custody, visitation rights and financial settlements in front of the children will only cause them more pain and suffering. Arguing parents can forget or be unaware that little ears are paying close attention.  Most importantly, remember that children need to be reassured that they are still loved.  Spend time with them, talk to them and make sure they understand that your love for them will be forever. 

Taking co-parenting classes during this time is highly recommended.  They are inexpensive and you can find high quality courses that are designed by licensed and practicing family therapists.  They are filled with the information that divorcing parents need to know about how best to handle their children during this difficult time and how to work together as a team.  Parents can minimize the impact of divorce by learning the proper techniques to help the kids get past insecurities about the situation.

Online parenting classes for divorce are a convenient form of education.  Parents don’t have to leave the privacy of their own home.  Upon payment, the class is immediately available and can be taken any time of the day or night at your convenience.  Nothing needs to be printed out; it’s all right there on the screen in front of you.  A certificate of completion is available once the course has been successfully finished.  This is the documentation that is presented to the court system if the class has been mandated as part of the divorce settlement.

Being on bed rest can be a very frustrating experience for expectant mothers. You have to put your entire life on hold while sitting still all day to protect your growing fetus. Most women find that they get very bored when they are in bed all day. Thankfully, there is a way that pregnant women on bed rest can utilize their time productively. It’s the perfect time to take online parenting classes.

There are several key elements to an online parenting class. First, they focus on stress management and why it’s important to your health and how you parent. Individuals are taught techniques to manage and handle the stress of everyday life. The first year can try some parents patience as their entire world is set upside down by a newborn who is on his own schedule, needs to eat every few hours and leaves little time for parents to get enough sleep. Having good stress management skills is extremely beneficial during this time. Classes also teach how to calmly deal with your child when they are angry and stressed out and are having temper tantrums, without escalating the situation.

Furthermore, online parenting classes teach what the different parenting styles are so that you can think about and choose what path you would like to go on. Tips are given for setting schedules, boundaries and what are successful rewards for good behavior and consequences for bad behavior. Child welfare such as nutrition, health and safety issues is also discussed. First time parents will also find them extremely educational as the most current thoughts on how to communicate effectively with your children are discussed. This includes how to send clear messages, how to avoid harmful patterns of criticism, aggression and defensive behavior, and how to resolve conflicts. When push comes to shove, children need strong role models. Parents should behave, as they want their children to simulate. The best parenting classes teach parents the how to successfully guide their children through life’s ups and downs.

In the past, people had to physically attend parenting classes. As most people work, these classes were usually taken at night or on the weekends. Thanks to the Internet, this is no longer an issue. Expectant parents can simply log-on a laptop computer or Ipad, sign up for a class and get started. This makes studying while on bed rest extremely easy. The mother-to-be can login and out of the class at her convenience and the computer will hold the last ending spot. Many women will wonder if studying while on bed rest is worth the effort. Unfortunately, raising children is not as easy as it looks. Parents who take these classes prior to childbirth learn a wealth of information that they can implement upon the child’s arrival instead of waiting until after problems have arisen. Taking a parenting course is also great for boosting the confidence of new parents. The right parenting course will encourage parents to build a loving and open relationship with their child from the beginning and set them on a course for success!

Encouraging your child to read is one of the best things you can do for him.   It is such an important skill because it not only takes kids to creative imaginary places, but also helps them achieve in every subject in school from math to geography to science.  Children who come from homes where the parents like to read and have books readily available for their kids, are most likely to become avid readers themselves.  However if you find yourself with a child who is a bit uneasy or insecure about his reading skills and therefore says he doesn’t like to read, here are some tips to help nudge them along in the right direction:

1) Begin reading to your kids from a very young age.  Take at least 20 minutes each day to read them a story.  Snuggling with them on the couch while you are reading to them will give them a sense of warmth and they will associate reading with a safe and happy time. 

2) Model reading for them.  Show them how much you value reading good books by reading in front of them, keeping a library of books on a bookshelf and taking care of your books.

3) Make the early experiences of reading fun for them.  Use different voices when reading the story, act out parts and ask them questions to keep them engaged in the story.

4) Let them choose what they would like to read.  An example comes to mind of when the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books first hit the stores.  Some teachers discouraged the books because “they are so easy to read and don’t have a value”.  However, these books have gained huge popularity and have sold millions of copies.  They are enjoyable and accessible to kids who might otherwise be intimidated by reading.

5) Take your children to the library.  Make going to the library to pick out a book a fun experience.  Get them their own library cards and impart a sense of pride in having a card.   

6) Encourage activities like reading street signs when driving or reading recipes to help your child see the value of knowing how to read in everyday life. 

7) For the reluctant reader, establishing a reading chart with goals and rewards is a successful way to get children to pick up more books. 

8) Make books a topic of discussion in your household.  Talk about your favorite books with your husband.  Talk about what you are currently reading and ask your kids about what books they are enjoying.  Encourage getting reading suggestions from friends their age. 

9) If your child wants to see a new movie coming out that is based on a book, tell them to read the book first and then you’ll take them to the movie. 

10) Pay attention to your child’s interests and research what books are available in the genre.  Make suggestions to your child and try to get them involved in a series that they can continue to read.  For example, my daughter loved historical fiction when she was 8 and couldn’t get enough of all the American Girl Doll stories. 

A strong foundation in reading skills will help your child to succeed in every subject in school.  Reading for fun will take them into exciting new worlds, teach vocabulary and spelling and benefit them throughout life.  For more tips on good parenting skills, visit www.onlineparentclass.com.  Parents can choose between classes from 4 hours – 16 hours in length that are full of the most recent skills to improve relationships with your children, reinforce appropriate behavior and help you to avoid common parenting mistakes.