by Charlie Brooks posted in Parenting

After the delivery of our firstborn, a nurse gave my wife and I some videos to watch. These impromptu parenting classes covered the immediate basics -- car seat installation, the importance of breastfeeding. That nurse also recited a list of each potential crisis our newborn could face. This left me in a state of near-panic.
The first month felt like a crisis we were only narrowly averting. We had hoped for a child for so long, and now I worried about breaking our fragile infant. Maybe if I had more disposable income, I would have opted for the parenting classes that are becoming a trend in Britain...but I hope not.
Many first-time parents in the UK now opt to pay a few hundred pounds for parenting lessons. As far as I can tell, this comes from a sense of insecurity. Kids don?t come with an instruction manual, lots of first-time parents don?t have friends with children, and it feels like you?re unprepared for a crisis. Yet despite the fact that you can make these lessons sound useful, I don?t feel like they?re necessary for most parents. Yes, parenthood seems overwhelming. But, it?s going to seem overwhelming no matter how much prep work you put into it. You don?t realize you can survive it until you actually do.

That?s not to dismiss the usefulness of parenting classes. There?s a lot of important information out there, from the birthing process to swaddling and more. But taking those classes isn?t going to eliminate your parental p...