The Importance of Parenting Skills

Adversity

• Parenting skills can be used as a buffer against adversity or a mediator of damage, according to BMJ. Good parenting can protect children from harm by keeping them out of poverty when possible and steering them away from delinquent influences. The care involved in good parenting will promote emotional and physical health in children. A part of good parenting is optimizing a child's potential, which will lead him to becoming a productive member of society in the future.

Motivation

• The motivation to protect and nurture children is not inborn in humans, according to BMJ. Good parenting skills are acquired through knowledge gained from past experiences and current circumstances. Adversity faced by parents, such as depression or poverty, can disrupt this acquisition. Working to gain these skills is very important in these situations, as even more potential for harm to children is present when parents face adversity.

Decline in Parenting Skills

• A complex and extensive social organization is available to help with child and family difficulties, according to BMJ. The lot of the disadvantaged is rarely changed by this organization, however, which makes these difficulties seem even worse, according to the journal. Health, social and education services rarely work together with parents, leaving the parents feeling like mere bystanders to their child's development.

Professional Response

• Good parenting skills are crucial, as they can work as a preventative measure against children's problems, according to BMJ. Professional venues do exist to help children, but the measures they take are largely reactive to problems that already exist. Children's problems often get worse with time, and professional reactive measures often become less effective over time.

Doctors

• Pediatricians and general practitioners can play a huge part in the development of good parenting skills, according to BMJ. Their support of parents learning such skills will result in more children receiving the help they need, both in maintaining their health and other aspects of childhood. These doctors can identify children at risk of health issues so preventative measures may be taken, according to BMJ.