Page 5982 - Week 18 - Thursday, 12 December 1991
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opportunities, et cetera, parents are having to cope with a more democratic social system. In fact, some do not know whether they are being good parents or not because they have no models to work from.
We are not born with parenting skills. They are skills we have to learn - and, boy, does it hit home once you have had your child. Parents need to be taught "people skills", how to negotiate and communicate, the fact that you do not need to be an authoritarian figure all the time. It is okay to discuss things; it is okay to admit that you have made mistakes or you do not know everything. These skills need to be built into the learning process right through our education system, from preschool to college and in TAFE, so that the next generation have them.
For those who are already parents or becoming parents, there are various parenting programs available. Unfortunately, at present they are not well attended. Maybe they are not advertised effectively. What came out in the evidence is that people do not attend them because of the stigma attached. The committee's recommendation, on page 103, acknowledges the need for parenting programs.
Evidence also identified teenage mothers as a high risk group prone to ineffective parenting. While the committee was visiting Westmead Hospital in Sydney, we were briefed on the hospital's clinic for teenage mothers. On page 102, the committee has recommended that the Department of Health establish a pre- and post-natal program for unsupported teenage mothers. Parenting has a major effect on a child's life.
Child abuse was seen as another major issue. Much of the evidence and research shows that there is a strong relationship between abuse and the onset of behaviour problems. During our visits to refuges we were informed that the majority of young people who go through the refuge system have been abused.
Due to the glaring absence of ACT data, right through the report, the committee used, where necessary, national and international research and has recommended that research be undertaken in the ACT. Recommendation 5.29 recommends research into prevalence data and recommendation 11.43 recommends research into the effects of ACT early intervention programs. For information on prevalence data the committee used a Queensland study because of its similarity and was able to relate it to the ACT.
At paragraph 5.6 the report states that, based on 1990 population forecasts, the ACT could have between 13,000 and 15,500 children under the age of 18 with psychiatric problems ranging from mild to severe. The number of children who are presenting at child-care services and preschools with behaviour problems is increasing at an alarming rate. The report states at page 26:
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