Overview and history of parenting education

Parenting is a difficult and challenging responsibility. Although childbearing may appear instinctive, childrearing is not. It is immensely time consuming and requires much effort. Parenting is an incredible journey, but the parent-child relationship can be wearisome and often bewildering. Of the many different relationships people form over the course of the lifespan, the relationship between parent and child is among the most important. The quality of the parentchild relationship is affected by both parent attributes (e.g., age, experience, selfconfidence, and marital stability) and child attributes (e.g., age, sex, physical appearance, and temperament). Modern parenthood is too demanding and complex to undertake merely because one was a child once. Changing roles and values may create ambiguity and uncertainty for contemporary parents. Numerous myths and misconceptions persist about parenthood complicated by the lack of sufficient and reliable guidelines for effective parenting. In addition, economic and social conditions increase stress on contemporary families.