The parental education needs and experiences of parents of children under six years : perceptions of participants in a parenting skills course

Abstract

Today’s parents lack experience of childrearing within their original family and may find their parents’ advice less relevant to meet their needs in today’s fast-paced and ever changing socio-cultural context. Thus, they seek support in parental education courses. This study employed a qualitative approach to explore and identify the perceptions of needs and experiences of five Maltese mothers of children under six years, who attended a parental education course. Participants had tertiary education and were in employment while raising their children. Each mother responded to an in-depth semi-structured interview. Thematic analysis generated themes reflecting parental challenges, parental education needs and experiences, and recommendations for meeting these needs. The results show that parents’ needs were multi-faceted and influenced by the interplay of personal values and experiences, family circumstances, and the wider socio-cultural context. Participants reported a need for reassurance and self-confidence as a parent, for facilitating communication and relationships, fostering children’s socio-emotional development, information and practical skills to solve parenting problems, and for dealing with modern life challenges and exercising reflection on one’s parenting practices. Apart from recommendations for supporting these needs, suggestions were also made for the leader to be sensitive to families’ individual circumstances and current realities of working parents, for opportunities to share experiences, ask questions and practice applied skills during the course. Further, parents proposed having flexible course times, childminding for attendees and making parental education mandatory. The implications of these findings are that providing parents with an opportunity to voice their needs is key in setting the groundwork for planning relevant parental courses.