Introduction: The notion of licensing parents is a complex issue that drives us into ethics, practicality, and intervention in family life. The question at hand is whether creating a system of licensing parents would lead to better parenting and outcomes for children's health. The topic at hand will be tied to a well-known man named Hugh LaFollette, a philosopher who has written and declared his opinions on the topic at hand. More specifically, I will dive into my stance and beliefs, but also include LaFollete’s article “Licensing Parents”. In this paper, I will explore and argue how licensing parents is necessary to protect the health and well-being of children around the world. So, my position is that parents should be licensed. This argument …show more content…
LaFollette creates links between parenting and outside tests that are somewhat related. We can first look at his connection with driving or medical practice. He speaks on how we administer these tests to evaluate a person's competence in the tasks at hand. Competence, this word is what many use to convey how someone knows to do an activity of some sort successfully or efficiently. For example, a person must be competent to get their medical license to save lives and not kill people. To continue, how is driving a car and gaining a license any different from requiring another human to take a test to gain a license to raise a human? LaFollete’s arguments rely on the three main principles he raises throughout his article. LaFollete states that while potential harm is “obvious”, we need to limit harm by licensing doctors, lawyers, and psychologists so they don’t harm anyone. They have to be professional and proficient in their practice (LaFollete 183). LaFollete goes further on by adding his second point of the necessity of competence in …show more content…
Poor parenting and living environments can lead to a range of negative outcomes, including abuse, neglect, emotional trauma, and delays in child development. These effects create long-term impacts on a child's life. If we can implement a system that can ensure all parents can support children in positive ways, we can reduce child abuse and neglect. This system could help ensure parents who create bad influences on their children and put them in harm's way can not become parents in the first place. For example, we can stop a drug dealer from having a child who is neglected and raised around drugs that can negatively affect their health for years to come. LaFollete argues that if we license drivers and doctors to stop harm to society, we should license parents to stop harm to our future children. Implementing this system would create a divide between the incompetent and competent parents in our world. No matter how harsh it seems, this divide sparks a new start to parenting and a better future for generations to
Families are becoming more diverse and they come in all shapes and sizes. Some people consider families to be strictly biological, while others consider people they love to be their family. Although two-parent families, also known as a nuclear family are the majority, one-parent families are becoming more common in today’s society. A sole-parent is considered to be a parent without a partner or spouse who is the primary care giver of one or more children in a household (Ministry of Social Development, 2010). From the age of 14 onward I was raised by m...
A state that undertakes custody of a child is declaring that it can do a better job providing protection. This system is a powerful agent of support, providing positive nurturing environments that enable a child to reach his or her potential. Nonetheless, when children suffer additional abuse in the system, this government intervention should be questioned.
Among the young, it seems like there is an epidemic of bad behaviors. Teenagers aren’t finishing high school, they are getting knocked up, and going to prison/jail. In his “Pound Cake Speech” Bill Cosby addresses these issues to the African American community. His speech was an emotional view of parenting these days. Bill Cosby argues that the 50 percent dropout rate in schools is because of parenting, children not speaking English grammatically is because of parenting, children having children is because of parenting, and children carrying guns and ending up in prison is because of parenting. The parenting he says, of the lower and middle economic classes of African Americans is the reason why these things are happening. He blames poor parenting for these issues. However, Cosby fails to take into account that these issues are wider than poor parenting. African American children face these problems not due to the lack of care and concern from their parents, but due to the lack of resources that their parents can use to provide for them.
In Hugh Lafollette’s paper, “Licensing Parents” he talks about the need for government licensing of parents. His argument states that for any activity that is harmful to others, requires competence, and has a reliable procedure for determining competence, should require licensing by the government. This argument relates to parenting because it can be harmful to children, requires competence to raise those children, and we can assume that a reliable procedure can be formulated. Therefore, parenting should require licensing by the government. I agree with Lafollette and shall focus on supporting him by addressing the most practical objections: There is no reliable procedure for identifying competent parents and it is impossible to reasonably enforce parent regulations. I shall address these objections and their reasoning, followed by responses that Lafollette and myself would most likely have, thereby refuting the objections.
In the essay, “Licensing Parents” the author Hugh Lafollette argues that a licensing system would protect children and society overall. For Lafollette, a licensing system would train parents to obtain a basic level of expertise and would separate those who stand a serious risk to children. His argument for parental licensing is based on an effortless set of parallels. The most obvious example that he gives is the licensing system that governs the driving of cars. He says if you want to drive a car, you must earn a driving license which involves passing a test of comprehension and skills that establishes a “minimum” level of competence.
Swan, Rita. 2010. “Equal rights for children under the law” Children’s Healthcare Is a Legal Duty, Inc
Sue Axon, from Manchester, is a mother of five children who filed an amendment over the Department of Health’s updated guidelines in the High Court in 2006. The focus of her action is to honor the rights of the parents over their children in terms of having an abortion and taking contraceptives. She stated that the guidelines given by the Department of Health undermines the roles of parents (BMJ Publishing Group, 2005). Mr. Axon’s attempt failed. Mr. Philip Sales said that implementing the “right to know” of parents will result to discouragement of young women to seek medical advice regarding their sexual
Bartlett, K. T. (1994) Rethinking Parenthood As an Exclusive Status: The need for Legal Alternatives when the Premise of the Nuclear Family has failed. (pp. 879)
Many individuals are taking the process of process of parental licensing into their own hands, despite their contributions being made up in mind only, however, it is thought that counts. One respective person believes that a restriction on having children should begin at the earliest stage of one’s life: birth. As soon as a child is born, doctors should “go in and turn off their spickets” (McRedmond). In the later stages of life, this would prevent several cases of teen pregnancies, seeing as though it would be an impossibility for women to get pregnant. Then, when a women eventually becomes ready enough to think about having children, they should go through a testing process, perhaps similar to Sherman’s ideas of interviews, writing, and demonstrations of capability. If they pass, they “get their spickets turned
Gama de, Katherine. “A Brave New World/ Rights Discourse and the Politics of Reproductive Autonomy.” Journal of Law and Society 201 (1993): 114-30.
Having a stable parental foundation is crucial in raising a healthy child. Furthermore, deciding on the parenting style of preference also plays a significant factor in ensuring the development of a flourishing child. Certainly there were flaws in my parent’s parenting methods, having made both positive and negative influences in my progression through my childhood. With the intentions of becoming a parent in the near future I hope I can one day provide my children with the same healthy experience that my own father and mother have.
Parent(s) should be able to provide a stable and loving environment for their children to grow up in, unfortunately, for drug addicted parents this feat seems impossible. Addicts must satisfy their own needs over anything else (Street, Whitlingum, Gibson, Cairns, and Ellis 2011). The high cost of drugs and their bizarre side effects cause rocky, unpredictable daily lives for the children of these addicts. Estimates show “…6 million children live with a parent who abuses alcohol or other drugs” (Taylor 2011). Children that reside with substance abusing parents enter into a perpetual cycle of physical abuse, neglect and emotional trauma. Numerous children raise themselves and/or their siblings because their parent(s) are either too drugged up to tend to their needs or are not home at ...
“How many do you think get abused per day?”, what if I told you that more than three million children under the age of 18 die each day due to child abuse and neglect. People think that child abuse isn’t that big of a deal, but as facts say, child abuse is increasing do to the facts of the abused not getting the help they need and turning themselves into the abusers (Perry) (Muscogee County Sheriff's office). Drug addicted babies are also a big problem in the United States, not merely as many die but basically tortured and grow up to be at a poorer physical and mental standard. As they grow up, they are approximately average until the age of four and then from there on out they just start to deplete in their motor skills, they basically become mentally and physically stupid. (Kronstadt, 2013)
“We need to teach the next generation of children from day one that they are responsible for their lives. Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice. We can make our choices built from love or from fear.” -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
Some parents believe that while they had a partner who equally contributed in the making of a life that was brought into the world, they should be held accountable and be responsible for the child as well. Whether or not the parents of the child are married, it is possible for both parents to remain active participants in the child’s life and still share the responsibility of raising them. When you are a single, adult person, you have one main responsibility, and that is the responsibility to care for yourself. That’s it, just you! However, when you and your partner or significant other agrees to have children, you must understand that the duty of raising healthy, responsible individuals starts with understanding the role as parents. Of course you don’t have to be a perfect parent to raise healthy, highly intelligent children. You are, however, absolutely crucial in your child’s life simply because you are your child’s parent. We only have one chance with our children, so while they are young, we must make the most of it. This is the window of opportunity to build a...