Item from the Smart
Marriages Archive, reproduced in the Divorce Statistics
Collection
London Telegraph
Thursday 30 December 1999
Children to learn pitfalls of being a parent By Marie Woolf, Political
Correspondent
PUPILS are to be given lessons on how to deal with conflicts in marriage
and how to appropriately "punish" children in parenthood classes
to be
introduced into schools by the Government as part of the national
curriculum.
The course will include lessons on the value of marriage as well as
practical tips such as how to cope with a child's tantrum in a
supermarket. The lessons, according to government guidance seen by The
Telegraph, are designed to produce children who "are likely to make
more
effective parents in the future".
Pupils will be taught what roles are expected of mothers and fathers and
asked to consider the costs and practicalities of bringing up children.
The guidance says that teachers should use personal experiences of family
life to illustrate lessons: "Appropriate personal disclosure enriches
and
brings to life the material that teachers are covering. Students respond
positively and enjoy the opportunity to see and relate to their teacher
in a different way - as a person who has experience of parenting first
and as a teacher second."
The Tories condemned the idea as "unnecessary meddling". Theresa
May, the
Conservative Education spokesman, said: "Many parents will feel this
is
very intrusive and their children should learn values from them." It
put
unnecessary pressure on teachers, she added, and left them "in a very
vulnerable position with pupils".
The Government has appointed a team of civil servants and education and
family policy experts to draw up the guidance for schools. Ministers have
instructed them to emphasise the advantages of marriage and stable
relationships while acknowledging the reality of lone parents and family
breakdown. The paper says that "whatever type of family children belong
to, including local authority care, the role of mothers and fathers and
their relationships is crucial". Children who flourish "have a
good
relationship with at least one parent", it adds.
The secondary school classes will include the teaching of "conflict
and
time management skills" and skills "necessary to manage family
relationships, including marriage". Teachers will explain how to "nurture
self-esteem in both children and parents, through praise". The course
will include lessons on the costs of bringing up children and discussion
of "the relative value of material things against love and security".
In model six-week courses, teachers will be urged to make pupils "think
about the different types of punishment children may receive". Pupils
will also be asked to "use catalogues to work out what is needed for
a
young family and how much it costs" and will look at "tantrums
at the
supermarket and how to deal with them".
The guidance says that the Government "believes that marriage provides
a
strong foundation for stable relationships. These relationships underpin
family life and good parenting and it is important that young people have
an understanding of their value." The Government believes that actively
considering the practicalities of parenthood will help cut down the
number of teenage pregnancies.
The classes will teach pupils how to deal with the stresses of family
life. Raising the link between family breakdown and delinquency, pupils
will also be taught that "a structured, rule-bound framework"
for family
life, which includes "responsibilities alongside rights and
independence", will help to reduce criminal behaviour in children.
The
guidance says: "Learning to live within family rules is the first step
towards learning to live within the law."
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