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Programs for the Imperfect Parent
| Article
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16820 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1989 |
1,661 Words |
| Author
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Kathleen Prentice
Kathleen Prentice is a free-lance writer whose articles appear
in the Detroit Free Press. |
Every Tuesday morning Linda Dowless and three-month-old Sarah arrive at a classroom at the Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon. Linda sits on a plastic-covered floor mat with a dozen other parents and their babies--tiny snugglers like Sarah, some older crawlers, and a few who have begun to toddle.
While the babies play, their parents begin a two-hour session called Living and Learning with Your Baby with "bragging time."
"Bragging time is our one tradition," says Susie Nelson, who has guided the baby class since it started in 1976. "Each parent brags about some new skill. I enjoy watching parents' appreciation of and excitement at each other's children and [their] growth. When a mom announces that Johnny slept through the night, there might be a spontaneous round of applause."
After bragging time, Nelson fields questions, then facilitates a discussion. She says that parents' topics of interest have changed over the last decade. Recent sessions have focused on pesticides in food, child care, and even legal issues facing families.
If the children become too disruptive, "We break for songs like 'Eensy Weensy Spider' or lullabies," says Nelson. Later, many of the babies drift off to sleep while their parents munch muffins and sip juice, continuing to discuss, question, and share.
Cathie Harvey, a founding member of the Family Resource Coalition, a national clearing house and resource agency, says that because parents are so vulnerable around these issues of caring for their young, one of the coalition's goals is to provide an environment in which parents feel comfortable expressing their concerns and anxieties.
Nelson nurtures a sense of camaraderie among her parenting students, and friendships often extend beyond the class period. Nelson believes those connections are among the reasons for the class' success. She says, "You don't have to hurry to be a perfect parent…People are able to make connections as they struggle with being new parents, sometimes resenting the time and energy being consumed by a new baby, knowing that others feel it too, and that it's normal."
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