Introduction
Although a parenting license is considered a restriction of human rights, this measure is beneficial because it prepares adults for parenthood, provides the child with a financial safety net, and protects them from abuse. The intersection of the institutions of the state and the family has always been a field of controversy and action and, therefore, intense debate between thinkers, sociologists, and experts in political science. This statement particularly applies to the legal and political concept of licensed parenting.
It is the idea that the state imposes a specific set of requirements on a parent or couple that they must meet to be able to raise a child or several. Moreover, the parenting license implies that the state becomes the regulating party in a family unit until the young one’s adulthood. This initiative can become the final resolution in regions with a high rate of family-related child neglect.
Parenting License as a Training Program
Today, the mechanism for obtaining most licenses involves showing a particular set of competencies by passing a state test. In the context of state-approved permission for parenthood, persons must demonstrate a complete understanding of their future responsibilities and duties related to the child, necessary mental capacity, communication, and societal skills. As Shields (2020) notes, “advocates of parental licensing believe that competency in parenting should be demonstrated prior to the allocation of full legal parental rights” (p. 424). This measure, if implemented, will ensure less stressful and complicated child upbringing for parents, a healthier family climate, and non-conflict accommodation of two sides of the family.
Parenting License as a Financial Safety Net
Being a parent requires both significant mental and monetary resources. Therefore, if a parenting license is ever introduced, it would most likely include a minimum income requirement for the couple or individual. Monahan (2019) argues there is a proven causal linkage between the low socioeconomic status of parents and the negative phenomenon of child maltreatment.
According to her, “other aspects of a low socioeconomic status, such as unemployment and welfare receipt, have also been associated with child maltreatment risk” (Monahan, 2019, p. 1). She explains, “Stress and hardship associated with fewer economic resources may contribute to harsh and neglectful parenting” (Monahan, 2019, p. 1). The minimum state income requirement for parents in the license will provide children with a safe, financially stable environment that will make their development comprehensive and non-traumatic and their lives happier and richer in experience.
Parenting License as a Preventive and Reactive Countermeasure to Child Ill-treatment
The state’s granting of a parenthood license is not a one-time action with a permanent effect but legal permission with a certain period of validity. Conceptually, this legal measure integrates state representatives in the form of regulatory agencies as the third party with the most power in the family unit and permits them to interfere in the upbringing process. The period of adolescence is especially difficult for parents. Parents can easily make a critical mistake there, especially in adoption cases.
According to Ainsworth (2019), “When the adopted person reaches adolescence, difficulties may arise, and some adoptions fail at this point” (p. 168). State-approved experts as final decision makers for couples or individuals wishing to become parents would prevent child maltreatment and neglect through systematic, non-biased competency assessment. The direct presence of the government institution in family affairs would allow it to quickly respond to child neglect and separate the child from a dangerous parent or dysfunctional couple before the situation worsens.
Conclusion
The license to parenthood remains a controversial topic in politics and sociology. There is a large community of opponents of this idea, and it probably exceeds the number of supporters. However, the state’s involvement can significantly minimize the rate of child maltreatment and the number of traumatic experiences in families. It could be the ultimate resolution for countries with a family unit crisis. A license to be a parent violates human rights but for the greater good.
References
Ainsworth, F. (2019). Parental licensing: An Australian perspective. Children Australia, 44(4), 167-171. Web.
Monahan, E. K. (2020). Income instability and child maltreatment: Exploring associations and mechanisms. Children and Youth Services Review, 108(104596), 1-16. Web.
Shields, L. (2020). Parental licensing as harm reduction. Health Care Analysis, 28(4), 424-433. Web.