Licensing Parents Essay

Professor Kirkpatrick

English 102

December 19, 2012

Parental Licensing

Child abuse or child neglect related incidences on average result in four deaths per day in the United States (Child Welfare, 2012). This is an alarming fact that has poisoned our communities and crippled the belief that our country is a safe environment for our children, the future leaders of our nation. Are there possibilities to prevent these horrible crimes on innocent children?

In California, interior designers must hold a license to practice “registered interior design” and failure to comply can lead to jail time (Lara, 2012). So you may ask yourself, why not license parenting as well? I would rather see an abusive parent in jail than wasting our judicial system to throw an interior designing criminal in the tank. After all, a terribly neglected set of drapery matched with green carpet sounds better then a neglected infant. There are far too many cases when it seems the decision to have a child was never planned. Having a baby should not be the result of unethical decision making or a lack of basic decision making skills. We must consider a first time parent licensing program that gives our future children a chance for a better life but also prepares parents for what’s to come.

The idea of licensing parents should not be based on the idea of population control, but as a teaching tool. Who knows, I may not speak for everyone, but I am sure that there are people thinking this might violate basic human rights in one way or another. We do not like the government meddling in our personal business and I get it. This is a serious topic that needs serious results. The right to have children is a freedom of choice. It takes a conscience person that is in control of their lives to make a well informed decision about having a child. People who are expecting children or even thinking about having a child must anticipate how much commitment they will be providing.

The licensing process should provide prospective parents the opportunity to learn what can be expected in their future role as parents. New parents should go through a very thorough training process before having a child. Classes ranging from child disciplining tactics to anger management. Additionally, topics such as childhood development and basic infant care needs are more ideas for a curriculum that can result in a functional, nondestructive family. The goal of having licensed parents should be to ensure that people have a basic idea of parenthood. We may not be able to quantify the amount of uneducated first time parents there are in the nation, but this can make an impact that can possibly lead to a significant decrease in child abuse or neglect cases. New parents that do not comply with the licensing process should not be eligible to let their child go home with them until they are complete with their training (Favole, 2009).

Whether it’s a single parent or a couple, a well established wealthy household or a poor household this parental training process should be mandatory for anybody that wants to bring a child into this world. Training should be provided by hospitals and planned parenthood offices around the country. Since the Child Protective Services could possibly be heavily involved, their offices can provide this training as well.

I firmly believe that this is the right step to take and at least we, as a country can say the we are trying to make things right for our families and our neighborhoods. Our society is dealing with plenty of recent tragic and stressful events, it takes courage to fight through the problems at hand. Eventually our children will be in charge and they will have to pass it on to the next generation. We have to teach them the right way so they can help bring back a well-balanced society.

Work Cites

Child Welfare Information Gateway. “Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities 2010: Statistics and Interventions”. Washington, DC. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. 2012. Web. December 18, 2012. www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/fatality.pdf.

Lara, Cathy. “California Law: License to Practice Interior Design?” Houzz.com. April 2012. Web. December 18, 2012. www.houzz.com/ideabooks/1975146/list/California-Law--License-to-Practice-Interior-Design.

Favole. “Should We Need A License To Be A Parent?” Mibba Creative Writing. June 2009. Web. December 17, 2012. www.mibba.com/Articles/People/2559/Should-We-Need-A-License-To-Be-A-Parent.