Parent Education

Author(s): Ernest R. Groves

Source: The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science , Mar., 1932,
Vol. 160, The Modern American Family (Mar., 1932), pp. 216-222
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. in association with the American Academy of
Political and Social Science

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 Parent Education

By ERNEST R. GROVES

THE attention that is being given

educator, also, who holds unswervingly
to to
to problems of the family and an education that functions in
parenthood education in the United
happier living, that becomes convinced
States would probably surprisethat
andparents equipped for their modern
startle our colonial ancestors more than task with nothing more than faith in
the airship and the radio. What is past traditions, socially menace their
becoming axiomatic in our culture children. It is impressive that the
would have been incompatible with highly selected group of mothers
their entire philosophy of life. In- studied by Ruth Lindquist, all of whom
deed, the persistency and the growth were members of one of the two hon-
of this interest in parent education have orary societies of college home eco-
run counter to the prophecies of some nomics students, found the parenthood
of our contemporaries, who have looked side of their responsibility their great-
upon it as a fad. est anxiety, the largest cause of fatigue,
Its continuous development should the chief source of friction, and the prob-
have been expected, for it is triple- lem for which they most sought help.'
rooted. In it converge three char-
acteristic American trends. One is SOCIAL CHANGES MUST BE MET
the prevailing confidence in education
Marriage and family experience can-
which Wissler called the fundamental not linger behind in a culture ever
faith of America, another is our willing-moving toward greater complexity,
ness to listen to science, and the thirdand maintain the complexion of yester-
is our pain-enforced realization that day as a thing apart from the rest of
life in the modern world requires new life; nor can adjustment in these rela-
social adaptation. The last impresses
tionships generally prosper without the
itself upon present thinking throughfull use of present resources. The new
the confusion of the modern family conditions are here, and sooner or later,
and the great gulf existing between whatever the parent's policy, the child
most parents and children. From themust meet them. The former can re-
second issues an indictment of faultysist, and often does, the social pressure
and archaic parental policy, as well astoward adequate present-day adjust-
the factual knowledge the parent needs ment; but the more he succeeds in
for his task; and the first still remains
his backward looking, the greater the
the method of improvement in whichdifficulty of the child. No routine
we as a people have most hope. The
brought from previous experience serves
perplexities of the parent, the value of
the need of present family life. To at-
the contribution coming from science,tempt to follow former patterns of
and our confidence in mass instruction conduct denies to the child the prepara-
give momentum to the parent-educa-tion his adult life requires, while at
tion movement in this country. the same time it robs the parent of the
It is, of course, the conscientious andmeans of growth which alone can make
intelligent parents that see most clearly 1 Lindquist, Ruth, The Family in the Present
the need of specific training. It is theSocial Order, pp. 35 and 125.
216

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 PARENT EDUCATION 217

him wise in his contact with the child strain of our transitional period. We
who is passing through the stress of have come to see that there are diffi-
adaptation at various age levels andculties and dangers in the parent-child
ever coming into sharper contact withrelationship that are independent of
a world in rapid transition. time and place, inherent in the associa-
It is true that parenthood is an art,tion, even though they vary with social
and there is nothing on the horizon tocircumstances. The intimate contact
suggest that it can ever be anything of adult and child is deeply emotional.
else. It is an art, however, that is It is an expression of a human hunger
shifting its base from tradition and that easily becomes excessive. Ad-
automatic routine to science. For vantageous as it may be to both parent
proper functioning, it requires insightand child, it carries with it an inevitable
even more than skill. The parentrisk. Its wholesomeness comes from
must draw his principles of conduct
its quality rather than its quantity, and
from some source. To attempt the to go
self-criticism necessary to keep it
backward to practices of a different
within bounds requires an objective
attitude difficult for the parent even
period enlarges his difficulty; and merely
under the most favorable circum-
to interpret with no outside assistance
stances. A realization of this, either
his own experiences with his child, blinds
him as to the real nature of his problem
before or during parenthood responsi-
and starts him toward a program of
bilities, helps immeasurably; but such
concealment of his own weaknesses. assistance must come from insight
The child cannot be made a clinic or rather than from warning or preach-
laboratory product. That is certain. ment.
No one ventures to suggest attempting There is an additional emotional
to produce institutionalized children, problem for the conscientious and
manipulated by the specialist rather scrutinizing parent, since the difficul-
than allowed to live with normal ties that arise from the contact of adult
human contacts. But if some sort of and child are easily exaggerated, creat-
adult-child fellowship is included in
ing in the child self-consciousness and
the dreams even of those who look love of power, and in the parent a feel-
forward to the passing of the family,
ing of guilt which distorts the meaning
it does not follow that this contact,
of the experience. There is also con-
whether between parents and children stant danger of the mother's excessive
or between state-appointed nurses and interference with the child's expression
children, can be wisely divorced from of individuality, as well as of over-
the factual knowledge gathered by the much protection, due to fear.
specialist who has studied the child and It is clear that the role of the parent
the maladjustments commonly found is as difficult and important as that of
in present-day American family life. the teacher, and possibly one requiring
The information we have is valuable, greater self-control. Judgment has to
and whoever comes close to the child in
be frequently passed, and each decision
his early years needs to make use of contributes
it, something to the making
and for this there must be preparation.
of the child's personality. How easily
the parent fails, recent science has
INHERENT DIFFICULTIES OF PARENT-
discovered; and its findings are being
CHILD RELATIONSHIP
increasingly popularized. It is un-
The spreading of the idea of parent reasonable and emotionally cruel to
education is not entirely due to the ask the parent to function without any

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218 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

specific instruction to give him the back- danger that this aspect of the relation-
ground which alone produces insight ship may overcrowd the others and
as specific problems constantly arise. degenerate into a sentimentality which
attempts the hopeless task of serving
THE PARENTHOOD ROLE
the child's life without understanding
Parenthood responsibility is only one and good technique.
aspect of the many-sided activities of From the point of view of what it
the mother and father, but it is as does, the parenthood r6le is as profes-
serious and complicated as any of the sional as that of the teacher. The
others, and often most needs prepara-fact that it is carried on more inter-
tion. In addition to the building up of mittently and distributed in a less for-
a background of knowledge to clarifymal way does not mean that it cannot
judgment, parent education makes be associated with a professional spirit
known the sources of the various sorts or that it will not profit from prepara-
of information that the parent needs tory instruction of as definite a
character as that given, for example,
to have as the child passes through the
to the nurse.
progressive stages of his development.
At no point can the interpretation of
EDUCATION FOR FATHERS
problems become fixed, for wholesome
parenthood can never be static. The It is not surprising that parenthood
child changes, and the parent must education has centered about the prob-
meet him differently. The necessity lems of the mother. She has been
of this ever developing program needsmore conscious of her difficulties and
to be enforced by instruction that per-more eager for assistance than the
suades the parent of his temptation father.
to The part she plays in the life
fall into household dogmatism or theof the child is ordinarily more serious
routine of habit. and more critical than that of the
To stress the value of didactic in-
father. There is, however, increasing
evidence that parenthood education
struction is not the same as insisting
that information is sufficient to meet cannot be concerned so exclusively
well the problems of parenthood. Aswith the mother. The father also has
Frank has so well said, parent educa-an important part in the bringing up of
tion can never wisely neglect the aes-the child, and there can hardly be a
more serious conflict between con-
thetic, the emotional, the inspirational
elements involved.2 The parent-childscientious parents than when the
relationship is a portion of life and mother seeks to follow the teaching of
must not be treated as if separated
science while the father is insistent
from the larger experience. The good upon the traditional practices of his
parent requires skill, but technique own parents. This difference between
alone does not suffice. The wise par-husband and wife, due to the better
ent must have judgment, but even in- preparation of the one than of the
sight is not enough. The aesthetic orother, has already become of concern
spiritual element must also receive to the leaders in parent education.
justice. This is realized by the leaders There is no reason why instruction
in parent education, but their experi- should not be given fathers other than
ence has warned them against the that this is contrary to tradition, just
2 Frank, Lawrence K., "Education for Home as, now that the significance of parent-
and Family Life," Jour. of Home Economics, hood activities for the state are growing
pp. 213-222, March 1931. more and more definite, there is no

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 PARENT EDUCATION 219

reason other than lack of precedent, idea, unfamiliar to many and unac-
for our failure to require preparationceptable to others. One does not
of both the husband and the wife discount its present value by frankly
who contemplate parenthood. This admitting
is that it is still in process and
so unlike the present practices to anda very great extent experimental
attitudes that it seems far away and in character. It already meets occa-
impractical; yet the trend toward itsional
ap- resistance from those who do
realize its implications and the threat
pears already to have started not only
in the United States but in various
it brings to every form of social ex-
other nations. Social advance grows
ploitation.
ever more clearly dependent upon
FUNCTIONS OF PARENT EDUCATION
growth of character, and this in turn,
The movement at present seems to
as science demonstrates in great detail,
is largely the result of what occurs in forward along three different
be going
the early life of the child. lines of activity. In part it is awak-
ening parents and the general public
NECESSITY FOR EFFICIENT PARENTS
to the need of specific instruction in
The issue seems likely to be between various phases of family life. The
having better parents and turning to interest of parents grows steadily, and
institutions of child care maintained among educators the idea of parent
education meets with increasing re-
by the state, conducted by persons es-
pecially trained for their responsibility
sponse.
as are now our teachers. In the United Parent education is also functioning
States the current flows toward the as a means of helping those who are
former, and nothing but a cultural already parents to meet their problems.
earthquake will ever turn it in the The work of such organizations as the
opposite direction. A loss of confi- American Child Study Association, the
dence in the possibility of preparing Congress of Parents and Teachers, and
for parenthood, or a widespread, para- the state and college extension depart-
sitic demand from parents that they ments, through child-study classes, has
be relieved of their responsibilities not only developed with astonishing
rather than trained to accept them, rapidity but has also in recent years
would be likely, given time enough, to become more serious in character.
overturn our attitude and lead at least One of the best results of this interest
has been a wide sale of useful books on
to experimenting with institutional
child care. parenthood and an ever increasing
The building of parenthood effi-
circulation of the periodicals devoted
to parenthood and the family. Along
ciency in the family concerns not only
the child's welfare but also that of the with this distribution of information
adult. With an increasing leisure and has gone a corresponding growth in the
with the indispensable values that can activities of child guidance clinics that
come only to the parent who enters not only has given a greater number of
fellowship with his child, we have every parents opportunity to get an objective
encouragement for attempting to meet analysis of their difficulties, but also
parenthood problems in accord with has furnished to the movement itself
American thought of family responsi- the authority and restraint that comes
bility. from the investigations of the scientist.
In spite of the attention given to The third and possibly the most im-
parent education it is still a minority portant form of activity is the effort

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 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

that has been given to the preparation while at the same time attempting to
for future parenthood. This has taken find room for the new.
several forms, each of which deserves a There is also the extremely critical
brief discussion. In this third en- problem of finding the right type of
deavor we find the greatest significance
instructor for both the girl and the boy.
of the parent-education movement.
Here is evident the folly of an admin-
It is still largely in process, but enough
istrative policy which throws out any
woman who marries or any married
has been gained from the pioneering
undertaking to give its promoters
woman who becomes a mother. Even
confidence. though marriage does not by itself
prepare an instructor to handle parent-
FORMAL INSTRUCTION OFFERED
hood education, nor does the single life
The activities enlisted as a partdestroy
of one's efficiency in such courses,
formal parent education are at present it is true that there are emotional
most impressive. Comparatively little handicaps both for the instructor and
the student in some instances when
has yet been done in the grade schools,
but in the high schools, especially in an
theunmarried person discusses family
home economics departments, and relationship
par- or the subject of parent-
hood.
ticularly for girls, parenthood education
has already obtained a position that de-
In the college even more than in the
serves serious regard.3 The instruction
high school, we now have definite
given is often scattered, and even whencourses in parent education. They
concentrated in definite courses it is are
notgiven under various titles, so that
always designated so as to emphasize
one cannot tell from college catalogue
captions the amount of attention the
its purpose as training for parenthood.
Nearly always in these courses some
subject receives. Both the sociologi-
attention is given to the immediate
cal and the home economics depart-
problems of youth, and rightly so,ments be- are giving such instruction. It
cause the interpretation of these is notalso offered as a part of the courses
only provides interest and helpfulness in social hygiene and in mental hygiene,
for the young people, but also leads andtooccasionally in applied ethics.
thought of home life in a way that pre-Sophisticated as the American youth
pares for personal family experience appears, it is nevertheless true, as
later. Popenoe says, that there is still a sur-
There has been some interest, prisingal- and costly ignorance regarding
though slight, in offering the same op-
both marriage and parenthood.4 Very
portunity to boys. Perhaps hererecently the there has been a most encour-
development will ultimately be rather aging growth of interest among home
along the line of mental hygiene economics
in- teachers regarding marriage
cluding concrete attention to parent- and family problems, and out of this is
hood than in courses similar to those emerging attention to family relation-
that are now being offered to girls. ships which is furnishing perhaps the
Of course, the addition of these newmost efficient instruction we now have
courses is increasing the burden felt in the field of parent education.
by the high school still clinging to tra-The most mischievous thing that can
ditional subjects such as geometry,
4 Popenoe, Paul, "How Can Colleges Prepare
3As an example of this see "High School
Their Students for Marriage and Parenthood?"
Courses in Child Care," Jour. of Home Econom-
Jour. of Home Economics, pp. 174-175, March
ics, pp. 132-137, Feb. 1931. 1930.

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 PARENT EDUCATION 221

happen is, of course, to have instruc- not replace the concrete instru
tion in such courses fall into the hands much needed in dealing with
of any one who has bitterness because problems. In any case, this n
of not having married, or who has preciation of the value of pare
built into her personality an antimar- preparation marks an epoch co
riage complex. On this account the ble only with the earlier devel
selection of the instructor cannot wisely of religious education of childre
be made merely on the basis of pro- Parenthood education is also advanc-
fessional training. Probably the most ing through the development of com-
advantageous background for such in- munity resources. Here at present the
struction is furnished by the properly most pioneering of all the various forms
trained woman who is also a wife and of parent education may be found.
mother. The Institute of Family Relations,
directed by Paul Popenoe, is perhaps
PARENTHOOD TRAINING OUTSIDE OF
the most impressive of these. The
SCHOOLS
child guidance organizations, now
Preparation for parenthood throughtaken as a matter of course, give assur-
class instruction is also developing ance from a different point of attack
through the extension departments ofthat the development of the diagnostic
colleges and of state departments ofmethod of treatment of family problems
education. The work of institutions and of gathering scientific information
such as the Universities of Cincinnati,
is inevitable.
Minnesota, Ohio, and Cornell illustrate
the first, while the States of California, THE MARRIAGE ASPECT
Oklahoma, and New York have already Even parents themselves are some-
accomplished much in developing prac-
what responding to the idea of giving
tical instruction for parenthood experi-
instruction to their children in prepara-
ences.
tion for family experience. The enor-
There is at present in all the religious
mous interest taken by many mothers
denominations in this country andasome
marked
fathers in the subject of sex
instruction
interest in the idea of training for mar-for their children shows
riage and parenthood. This repre-
that the indifference of parents is not
sents a recent swing from an attack
so great as has been thought, but that
by the churches upon tendencies in-felt qualified to do their
they have not
terpreted as hostile to the family,
part in the to a
training for marriage and
realization that constructive family
work mustlife. It is being recognized
be done by teaching rather that than
the familybymay furnish not only
denunciation. The activities that are
instruction but also attitudes that in-
now beginning to appear asfluence
an expres-
the child, and especially an
sion of this concern of the churches,
example of happy adjustment which
call for the highest quality has
ofa spiritual
decisive influence upon the child,
statesmanship, since there
whowill
in hisbe a years gets a start
early
constant temptation to fall backhappy
toward uponor unhappy mating.
dogma and to insist upon On moralizing
the other hand it is being realized
in the instruction, to the detriment of
that the matrimonial unrest and mal-
the giving of factual knowledge.
adjustment No
now experienced by a
church can be criticized for emphasis
considerable portion of our popula-
of its position on family problems, but
tion is sure to show itself in a later
there is great need that this should
suspicion of marriage and its ideals

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 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY

among the children of such families. that if definite instruction conserves

the latter, it is even more needed in
The marriage aspect of family life is
the preparation for matrimony. Here
receiving at present less attention than
it deserves. The distinction between and there in colleges and in churches
the two for practical purposes is often
we have pioneering experiments in prep-
arbitrary. There is need, however, of
aration for marriage that deserve the
recognizing that marriage is at present
close attention and sympathy of all who
more disturbed than is the family,are interested in parenthood education.
and

Mr. Ernest R. Groves is Professor of Sociology at the

University of North Carolina. He has written numer-
ous books on marriage, on the family, and, in collabora-
tion with his wife, on childhood problems. He is also
widely known as a lecturer on these subjects.

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