Is parenting the hardest job in the world?

I recently read an interview with Steve Backshall in which he said “Parenting has got to be the hardest job in the world” – maybe he’s right but he hasn’t even reached the terrible two’s yet! Most of us want to be ‘better’ parents don’t we? (whatever ‘better’ means!), but there are so many aspects to it that it’s often hard to keep all the different plates spinning smoothly at the same time.

‘Care for the Family’ have some great resources available and now at St John’s we have two of their DVD based ‘parentalk’ courses available for you to borrow and run at home with friends, school parents and neighbours. The two courses (primary and secondary) are designed to be informal and cover very useful topics. Additionally, although Care for the Family is a Christian charity, these courses have been produced for people of any faith or none – so they really are suitable for anybody.

Occasionally, it’s just good to take a little time out, step back from what you’re doing and assess things, learning with and from others at the same time. These courses are perfect for that, but they’re also a great way to get to know other people you come into contact within your community. After 6 weeks of discussing family matters, your friendships will have probably improved as much as if not more than your parenting!

So go on – give it a go! Ask a few people you know to join you- after all, who doesn’t like talking about their own kids?!

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Nic Pagnam