Parenting Should Require a Course, and a License
I was discussing parenting with my younger son, who has two toddlers, a three-year old and a two-year old. He is discovering that's it's no picnic, raising children, especially when one or more is headstrong and leans towards...tantrums! Let's face it, good parenting is very hard. It has been said that one needs to take a driving course and earn a license to drive a car, but any person can be a parent, and there's no instruction manual that comes with the kid! Even a well-meaning, kind parent can become so frustrated with a screaming, tantrum-throwing child that he or she runs out of patience. But one of the worst things to do is to scream back at the child or show intense anger--that just compounds the problem. Most of the time, if it's a young, say, two-year old toddler who is "acting out" it is because he or she becomes frustrated at not being able to express himself/herself verbally. Often, it's best to hold the child lovingly but firmly, a...