Why we need a public health approach to parenting.

Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed has announced that one of the ways Labour will crack down on crime is by requiring parents of youth reoffenders to attend parenting classes. 

Parenting classes as a reactive measure can be incredibly impactful. Parents and carers are pivotal in helping their children self-regulate and manage their own behaviour - something which is crucial for crime prevention. 

Targeting parenting programmes can be important in helping those at ‘the pointy end’ - children and parents involved in crime, or at the edge of care. 

But it’s vital that it's not the only place they’re available. Instead, we need to approach supporting families with a broader, public health lens. I suggest this for two reasons;

1. Tackling stigma around asking for parenting help  

The Government's ambition to help parents through the Supporting Families Programme and the Family Hubs roll out demonstrates their commitment to creating a comprehensive network of support for parents to lean on. Now, one of the biggest challenges local authorities face as they strive to make a success of the Government provision, is to break down the stigma that 75% of parents, according to Triple P-led polling, feel about reaching out for help. 

Singling out ‘problem parents’ for what are perceived to be corrective programmes, risks further deepening parenting stigma. Parents with less severe problems may feel like these programmes are not suitable for them because their issues are less extreme, or they may simply fear being associated with ‘failed’ parenting.   

A broad public health approach could hold the key to reducing stigma. By making parenting courses available to all parents, with varying levels of intensity, we can empower parents to choose the type of help they require and prefer. This allows mums and dads the freedom to seek help without fear of judgement, whether they have common parenting questions such as how to get your child to sleep, right through to how they can manage antisocial or criminal behaviour.                      

By offering support to everyone, you also create a public discussion. Recently a mum who had attended a Triple P parenting course told me she helped to support her sister with an idea for managing her son’s behaviour. Her sister was giving her son a chocolate bar to keep him quiet when he was acting out. Instead of rewarding bad behaviour with a treat, the mum suggested her sister only give him a chocolate bar when he behaves well, to encourage positive behaviour and new habits.

Whilst this is a simple example, it shows how peer-to-peer advocacy of programmes and the transfer of knowledge from parent to parent, can play a significant role in breaking down stigma and opening up new conversations which can lead to social contagion where the impact ripples beyond just those that ‘attend’.

2. Acting preventively with light touch intervention rather than reactively with harsher intervention

A combined universal and targeted approach would help prevent, rather than react, to criminal behaviour, helping to protect the community more widely. 

By opening up support to everyone, parents can learn about the importance of the relationship with their child, how to encourage good behaviour, new skills and self regulation in their children from the early years right up to the end of secondary school.

Expanding access to positive parenting programmes can reduce the risk of children reaching a point where they would act in a criminal manner. But also if, despite learning positive parenting techniques early on, their child’s behaviour does deteriorate, parents are more likely to return and access more intensive support if they’ve been before and seen the benefits of an offer that is normalised. The more reactive support can then also be in place for those who might need it, but it is likely that there would be many fewer of these cases, protecting the community against crime and shaping positive futures for children. 

The stigma issue comes in again here. From speaking to parents, we know that they are most receptive to parenting support and advice when they are new to it. Not only are children more malleable in the early years, but parents of these children are too. By normalising support from the get go, we can create a generation of parents using positive parenting approaches to raise happy and healthy children. 
 

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Both the Government and Labour are right to highlight the effectiveness of parenting programmes. The next challenge is to make it normal and aspirational for all parents to reach out for support with parenting, whatever their issue. Regardless of who is in power, the case for a public health approach to parenting is clear. By diminishing the stigma attached to these programmes, and making more of them available, all young people, rather than just some, will benefit from better support.

'Honorary Associate Professor, Matt Buttery.'