by Cassie Kristof

Created on: March 31, 2008

When you are pregnant all you really think about is the birth and making sure the nursery is ready for your new baby. What you forget is that the baby isn't going to be a baby for too long. Soon they will grow into a toddler and when they hit the 'terrible two's' (which often hits at around 16 months and lasts for 16 years!)parenting becomes a whole new challenge! Hey, in that case maybe the classes should be given to teenagers to prevent them having kids too early - some of the footage of screaming toddlers (or even an afternoon spent with a toddler who has refused to have a nap) might put them off for quite a while!

Parental classes should definitely be offered during pregnancy, I'm not saying that everybody should take them (we all would like to think that our child will be perfect). But I truly think it's important for parents to at least be informed of what aides and classes there are out there.

I have just recently completed a parental class on toddler behavior management with my husband and am so glad we went. Our toddler is not one of the worst cases out there, but he is certainly no angel. The whole time I was listening to the lady that ran the class and all throughout the exercises we took part in, I was thinking 'I wish I had known this earlier'. It would have saved so many arguments and tears to have known how to better manage a toddler and how to keep both parents using the same strategies!

It probably wouldn't feel like the information was overly pertinent at the time you are pregnant. But I'm sure the minute your toddler dropped to the floor in the middle of the supermarket to throw a full-on arms and legs kicking and screaming tantrum the prior warning and information would all come flooding back!

Prevention as they say, is better than cure. So by all means offer the parenting courses to mothers whilst their little darling is still in utero and give them the chance to try and prevent problems before they occur. Or at the very least let mums to be out there know that help is available for when those terrible twos really do become too terrible!

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