Knowledge and skills are vital elements in preparing an individual to become a parent. Knowledge and skills enhances a parent’s awareness through education, information and training. Parents can increase their knowledge and skills through education, information and training offered by both formal and informal groups and resources. Information can also be gained by seeking sources from reputable professional, reading reliable books or exploring websites for individuals to prepare themselves to become a parent. Seeking for information can have positive impact a dependent’s overall well-being as they are able to gain knowledge and skills to satisfy the specific needs and wants of their dependent. It is also crucial to note that parents should be able to differentiate between accurate information and social media as it could be sometimes provide inaccurate information and unprofessional advice on parenting that can prevent them becoming an effective parent. Some formal resources include antenatal classes that is provided by Transformation into Parenthood located in Sydney prepares an individual to become a parents as they gain skills and knowledge about pregnancy and their newborn. This formal group has a positive impact on the emotional and physical well-being of the dependent as it prepares the individual to become a parent so that they can cope with challenging situations. For example a parent through this course will learn how to effectively breastfeed their baby and hence positively impacts the dependent’s physical well-being as through breast milk a newborn gains their nutrition to develop. It also positively impacts the dependent’s emotional well-being as the parents will gain the skills and knowledge required to effectively interact and communicate with their dependent to satisfy their emotional well-being. Online websites such as Baby centre provides information on areas such as breast-feeding, dietary for children, appropriate physical activities which have positive impact on the dependent’s physical well-being. Through this website a parent gains necessary knowledge and skills that will prepare them to become a parent. This website discusses about the important food dietary that is required to assist the dependent in growing. For example daily intake of milk will provide calcium for the dependent that will strengthen their bones which has positive impact on a toddler’s physical well-being as they need strong bones to support them while walking. Another reliable source of information is the book called ‘Save Our Sleep’ by Tizzle Hall where it provides information that enhances the parents’ knowledge and skills on how to put their baby to sleep from birth to the age of two. It provides strategies such as how to choose the perfect cot for a baby to allow them to sleep comfortable and how long a baby should sleep. This positively impacts the dependents emotional and physical well-being as appropriate amount of sleep allows the dependent to grow and having a good sleep will prevent a baby from crying or being sick as sleep enables them to be fit and healthy.
However if a parent doesn’t gain information through resources such as websites, educational groups and books it will prevent them from having the skills and knowledge to become a parent. For example if a parent does not know how to breast feed their dependent, they might switch to formula milk. This can negatively impact the dependent’s physical well-being as breast milk has been proven to be the best source of nutrition for newborns and due to not knowing how to breast feed can take this opportunity away from the newborn dependent. Furthermore not knowing strategies that allow a parent to put their dependent on the right time and length of time they should sleep for also negatively impacts the physical well-being of the dependent. Research has shown that lack of sleep or not sleeping appropriate amount of hours can result in insulin resistance, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. According to Johns Hopkins University, it highlights that children who slept the least amount of hours had a 92% higher risk of being overweight or obese compared to children with longer sleep duration. Therefore it is vital for individuals to enhance their knowledge and skills to prepare themselves for becoming a parent as the information they gain through education and training can have positive and negative impact on the dependents overall well-being.