In Germany you need to have to have a special license for basically everything: for driving cars and lorries, operating ships and airplanes, to be able to perform first aid, for fishing, for leading an enterprise etc. Adding to that before working in a job the needed qualifications have to be presented. Adults also need a special license when they are working with children, be it as part of their occupation, as volunteers or babysitters. It seems as if there is only one thing that you do not need a license for: parenthood. Does that mean that we do not attach importance to it?
I firmly believe that being a parent is one of the most important roles, functions and tasks that an individual has in society: it is a parent's role to raise and educate their children and thereby preparing them for their future life in the society. They are responsible for the health, social and physical wellbeing and education of their children. They mediate this mainly by being examples that children follow. In addition to that parents have to give children love and provide them with a safe place in which they feel comfortable to prosper. However, there are some shocking figures that clearly show that some parents don’t take their task very seriously: negligence, violence and negative developments in health.
• Obesity:
In 2015 8800,000 children in Germany were overweight. In the past 25-30 years, the number of obese children and teenagers has risen by more than 50%. This trend was attributed to an increase in unhealthy food consumption, increased TV consumption and a decrease in physical activity. It is however very interesting when we consider the fact, that a child has an 80% higher chance of becoming obese or overweight when the parents are overweight themselves. This clearly shows that parents and their habits have a huge effect on the development of their children.
• Dental Care:
10-15% of all infants already have primary tooth decay. It is the most common infant illness. Already one-year-olds need to have fillings and teeth pulled out. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the excessive intake of sweet foods and drinks and by the fact that parents do not brush the teeth of their children. However even worse is that many parents skip mandatory checkups.
• Diabetes:
30,000 children (under 18) in Germany suffer from diabetes type 1. The number of new incidence rises yearly at a rate of about 2-4%. Type 2 diabetes (caused by an unhealthy style of living) in children has also increased and is thought to double until 2020. It is shocking to see that diabetes, both type 1 and 2, often go unnoticed until the children have a serious insult that can result in a hospital stay or even worse in some cases death. These situations are not very uncommon and are caused by the fact that parents skip checkups and oversee or underestimate first indications.
• TV:
In 2015 children in Germany watched an average of 223 minutes (3,7 hours) of TV per day (according to media educators and pediatrists the maximum TV consumption is 30 min for 3-5-year-olds, 60 min for 6-9-year-olds and 90 min for 10-year-olds and above). 220,000 3-13-year-olds are still watching TV between 10 and 12 pm. Many parents view the TV as a cheap babysitter or solution when they can not handle their children. After school or kindergarten children are often simply placed in front of the small screen instead of being taken to play outside. Excessive TV consumption has shown to lead to serious social and health problems for children including isolation, the development of aggression and concentration problems, a decrease in physical activity and an increase in fast food consumption, delayed language development the worsening of school attainment etc. But watching movies and series is not limited to TV as many children are also provided with means to watch them online. This leads to the fact that all in all total media consumption is much higher than the total amount of sleep and children don’t have proper biorhythms anymore.
• Violence and negligence:
In 2011 on average 3 children (under 14) died per week as a consequence of mistreatment. Most of the cases are attributed incidence inside of the family which include both violence, sexual abuse and negligence. A study by the opinion-institute Forsa in 2012 has shown that ½ of all parents hit their children. However, while the reason in the past has been mostly “disobedience” and “insolence” of the children it is now often the overload and frustration of parents. Especially very young parents, parents that suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction or parents that have certified psychological problems tend to be more aggressive and violent in parenting.
• Stress, alcohol, drugs and cigarettes:
It is no secret anymore that the development of a child is greatly effected by alcohol consumption, drugs and smoking of a becoming mother during pregnancy. These habits can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight as well as complications during birth. Live births have a greater chance of developing abnormalities, disabilities and serious health issues. What many people however do not know is that stress can have similar effects as listed above.
All of those figures have clearly shown that not all people can be regarded to be responsible parents. The same is probably also true in other countries. I therefore suggest that governments implement a new system in which people have to qualify before they become parents; they have to take part in a course where they learn the basis of childcare (healthy nutrition, clothing, education, healthcare, playing with children, sleep-wake rhythms, appropriate activities for children at different ages, first aid, where to get information and help etc.). It is obvious that many people especially with an increase of external pressures (job insecurity, stress at the workplace, divorce, environmentally caused illnesses like asthma and allergies etc.) are totally overloaded and do not know how to handle difficult children and the changing demands that are fueled by the media and economy. All of those that take part and successfully take part in the course will be able to benefit from financial aid by the state. We would thereby minimize many of our social problems including violence and some health issues that do not only affect individuals but also the society as a whole. I think that most of us will agree that caring for the following generations is our most important responsibility and task.