Memorandum by The Parenting Education
and Support Forum (WP 47)
INTRODUCTION
1. This submission is made by The Parenting
Education and Support Forum(the Forum) which is the national umbrella
body for people who work with parents. It has 1,300 members who
are working with about one million parents in England. It provides
support, information and quality assurance structures to the sector.
The Forum was established at the National Children's Bureau in
1995 by a group of children's national voluntary organisations.
The Forum has developed the National Occupational Standards for
Work with Parents; they are currently being field-tested and will
be submitted to the UK Approvals Body in April 2005. There is
a draft of the standards and more information about the Forum's
work at www.parenting-forum.org.uk.
2. The Forum strongly welcomes the Choosing
Health White Paper. It welcomes in particular the section on mental
health and the measures proposed for providing services for parents.
While much of the White Paper rightly refers to the role of parents
in encouraging healthy eating and exercise for children, the Forum
is pleased that the crucial importance of good parenting in enabling
mental health and high self-esteem is also recognised. Negative,
cold, violent or abusive parenting can lead to risk-taking behaviour
such as alcohol or substance abuse as well as self-harm or even
suicide.
It is the very authoritarian parenting style
that appears to lead to the poorest outcomes for children (after
Maccoby and Martin 1983) cit Sutton et al 2004 "Support
from the Start" DfES research report 524.
The US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent
Health has shown that low levels of attachment or connection to
family and school are important risk factors for many health outcomes
in adolescence, such as emotional distress, suicidal behaviour,
violence and substance abuse (Resnick et al 1997 cit.Sanson,
2002).
"Parents are the most important influence
on a person's level of self-esteem. Once parents have had their
say, little else in life will be able to modify the opinion of
self thus formed" (Prof N Emler, "The Costs and Causes
of Low Self-Esteem" Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2001). Parenting
education and support can break the cycle of poor parenting and
prevent it being passed from generation to generation.
3. The Forum is concerned about a number
of issues which could prevent the Government from achieving its
public health goals.
The first is a unique opportunity to educate
and encourage parents which is currently being missed. This is
during the ante-natal period. The expectant parents, fathers as
well as mothers, feel nervous and excited; they are anxious to
learn about this new phase in their lives and to do their best
to be good parents. Research makes clear the benefits of fathers'
involvement in their upbringing of their children "It plays
a protective role against psychological problems in adolescents"
(Flouri E and Buchanan A (2003) The role of father involvement
in later mental health Journal of Adolescence 26(1) 63-78).
Yet the only preparation currently offered is
for the birth itself. We should take advantage of this period
to prepare the couple for the emotional impact of the new baby,
the changes in the couple relationship, to tell them about the
amazing capacity for learning of the new-born and of his need
to responsive care. Fathers as well as mothers are completely
involved at this stage, and we waste the opportunity in practising
breathing exercises.
We urge the Select Committee to insist that
we train and provide time for midwives and health visitors to
deliver much more in depth and comprehensive preparation for both
parnets for the forthcoming enormous change in their lives.
4. There needs to be specific training for
all practitioners in how to provide parenting education and support.
Being a parent is not a medical condition. People who have been
trained for other areas of work, for example as doctors or nurses,
have not ipso facto been trained to work with parents.
David Quinton found that "How we work with
parents is as important as what we do." (Supporting Parents:
Messages from Research Prof. David Quinton publ By Dept of Health
and DfES 2004 Jessica Kingsley )
Well-intentioned work with parents carried out
by untrained practitioners runs the risk of failing to help, of
alienating vulnerable parents, and of giving a bad reputation
to this work. Providing services for those parents who are most
in need of help is difficult and complex. It is not simply a matter
of delivering advice or information.
The necessary infrastructure and mechanisms
exist to ensure that the goals will be achieved but there is a
danger that they will not be adhered to; we therefore urge the
Select Committee to insist that services should meet the standards
set out in the National Occupational Standards for Work with Parents.
5. Choosing Health refers to the National
Service Framework(NSF) for Children which states that:
"Parents and carers are enabled to receive
the information, services and support which will help them to
care for their children and equip them with the skills they need
to ensure that their children have optimum life chances and are
healthy and safe."
We urge the Select Committee to insist that
the NSF be provided with the necessary budget to implement its
recommendations and be set explicit time-limited targets which
will ensure that this admirable goal it sets out is achieved.
6. We are pleased that Choosing Health sets
out some proposals for providing support for parents in Sure Start
initiatives. Almost all parents want to do a good job of bringing
up their children but sometimes need help. The commonly held perception
that parents feel they have failed if they ask for help is not
true. The Forum is currently a partner in a BBC project which
is using TV broadcasts to offer parents the opportunity to attend
parenting workshops. The response from parents to the question
"Why are you interested in going to a parenting workshop?"
indicates that parents aspire to do the best job they can and
welcome help.
"I just feel I could still learn a lot about
relationships with my child."
"He is now picking things up from school.
Just need a bit of help and advice."
"I am worried that I am not bringing up
my child in a rounded way, struggling with tantrums and generally
stressed."
"To see if I can gain some positive ideas
about how to be a more patient parent."
It is also untrue that the help is available
but is rejected by parents who need it. The parents sentenced
under Parenting Orders famously said "I had been asking for
help for years; why did I have to wait till my child was labelled
a criminal to get it?" (Youth Justice Board Report 2001)
7. The Government will be better able to
achieve its public health goals if:
Parenting education and support services are
widely available for parents of children of all ages as and when
the parents need them.
Preparation for the emotional impact of parenthood
is offered to both parents before the child is born
Parenting education and support is only delivered
by those who are recruited, trained and supported in line with
the requirements of the National Occupational Standards for Work
with Parents.
The Children's National Service Framework has
the budget and targets to ensure it delivers its ambitious vision.
January 2005
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