Learning to Parent

We were just told that parent training was recommended for Scott and I due to a recent diagnoses for one of our kids.  When the psychologist made the recommendation she cringed a little and waited for a backlash.  She mentioned that many parents are upset at the idea that they need training on how to parent their child (and in this case, a child with psychological disorder).  Scott's and my reaction couldn't have been further from that.  "Bring it on!"  "How soon can we start?"

I think that nurturing comes naturally to most parents.  But I don't think that parenting does.  We read parenting books and do internet research.  We talk to our friends and call our moms for advice.  We ask our pediatrician and teacher's opinions.  We attend conferences, workshops and classes.  Learning to parent takes a lot of work.  And then factor in that most children need to be parented differently.  In our home, we definitely have three distinct parenting strategies.  It's not something we've really thought about but something that has just evolved as the kids grow and change.  No wonder we are exhausted.