98. Parenting Education
Children of puberty and post-puberty age should be shown the risks and rewards and future emotional and financial costs and benefits associated with having children, especially children born with undesirable genetic diseases or traits. They should be shown videos on the subject.
The aim is to try to sway children/people who are not financially or emotionally ready to have children from doing so. More specifically, the goal is to discourage people possessing a higher probability of birthing a genetically defective child from conceiving in the first place or to at least have thought about the possibility in advance so that they are more ready to make the decision to abort the child soon after the diagnosis in the womb or before stronger emotional bonds are formed between the various parties. The benefits of not having children with such problems should be emphasized.
Students should be immersed in some parenting roles so that they would better understand how it feels and better comprehend the responsibilities involved. Students should be placed on schedules mimicking the degree to which crying, hungry, ill, or restless babies would interfere with other activities. They should be required to participate in budgeting exercises to instill in them the real costs associated with caring for a baby.
Students should be required to watch several videos on how to control and discipline children. They should also be shown videos about poorly raised and mannered children who are ‘out of control’, stubborn, selfish, spoiled, etc., and how other people perceive and frown upon such children and their parents and what such people say to each other about them when they are not around. Students should be taught to use parenting methods that would help avoid such developments in their potential future children.
All people who work with or care for children should be required to take these classes, as well.