Costa Rica News – The National Children’s Trust (PANI) offers parenting academies where they teach moms and dads to be better parents since “children do not come with a manual,” a phrase often repeated in the courses.
After a mild incident of abuse or neglect, PANI can impose a requirement that parents go to the classes to get a boost to be better at the difficult task of parenting. One example is a mother who left her child sleeping in a car. PANI returned the child to her but she was required to participate in the classes to learn more about child development and needs. People can also go voluntarily to the classes.
Some topics include brain changes in children, computer safety, setting limits, basic needs, nutricion, emotional security, self-control, learning, and many more. It follows a “parenting pyramid” idea.
While some parents go to the first class furious that they have to be there, and some stay just so they don’t lose their kids, in the end many are grateful for the new way to see parenting and learning how to parent in a better way than they were parented. 5,058 families were helped by the program last year.
