In anticipation of having a new baby, many of us read a variety of books and how-to manuals, talk to pediatricians and get advice from family members about how to take care of a newborn and raise them through the toddler years. Then time seems to take over, the days fly by and we stop consulting bestselling books and just go with the parenting style that seems natural for us, or the one that is most popular among our friends. It’s interesting that the most challenging years in raising a child can be the teen years, but at this point in our parenting career, very few of us reach outside the home for advice.
The teen years have proven to be the most difficult for many families to get through. It’s actually a really good time for parents to reinforce the skills they’ve developed by taking parenting classes. Most teenagers lack the foresight to understand how their behavior today will affect them in the long run. For example, learning good study habits and organization now will help them in all future jobs, or the friends they surround themselves with now can determine what level of college education they are ready for when the time comes. It’s a time when our kids try to start to separate from us and become more independent and can be very frustrating. Therefore, the best thing we can do as parents is to educate ourselves about the stages of development and learn how keep an open line of communication with our young adults.
You might argue that taking a parenting class is just out of the question while trying to juggle a busy life schedule with work and a family. However, online parenting classes take away the stress of having to drive to a classroom at a predetermined time. Parents can take online classes from the convenient and relaxed environment of their own home, from their own personal computer, at any time of the day or night. The virtual classroom requires no additional software or paperwork. In fact, nothing needs to be downloaded or printed out. The information is all available to you on the computer screen immediately upon registration.
If you have a teenager and are looking for additional guidance on how to support them through bullying, peer pressure and how to get them to open up to you, then enrolling in a parenting class online will strengthen your skills. A six hour online parenting class reinforces successful parenting practices like assertive communication, stress management and anger and conflict resolution. Clients learn what the biggest parenting mistakes are, and how important it is for parents to model the behavior they want their children to emulate.
Online classes are available to take immediately upon enrollment. They can be taken from any computer with Internet access while the kids are in school, or at night after everyone is in bed. They are low in cost, and both parents can sit together to take the class at the same time. An online course will help you to refine your skills even after years of parenting and will help to create a stable, communicative environment for your kids to thrive in at all stages of their development.