They say, somewhat irreverently but at the same time with more than a grain of truth, that your first child is your "practice kid." Firstborns get a lot of attention and they also get the learning curve. Once you're in the territory of two or three, some things seem relatvely easy and don't elicit that huge feeling of panic that occurs with baby #1. Hellllp!

Which is where Sweden comes in. It's already known as a parent-friendly and child-friendly country, giving support to new parents and providing child-friendly public spaces. But guess what else Sweden does that we could really really use elsewhere as well?

Parenting classes.

Though I used to think parenting classes were just for losers who lacked common sense, what Sweden is starting makes perfect sense. How many of us know the best thing to do in every situation with our kids? Sure, we read books, we talk to other parents, we read useful, humorous, and scintillating online content , but I could have used a class or two to help address my insatiable urge, for example, to manage every conflict between siblings, or just simply to make issues relating to divorce and single parenthood easier and better for everyone.

In other words, I think we all could use some support in parenting.

Of course, the classes could totally suck. That would be a problem. But 99% of Swedish parents taking these new parenting classes for older kids (they already have parenting classes for parents of newborns) would recommend them to someone else. So I'll take those, please.

Besides, Swedish parents, for the most part, rock. Hey, they don't spank!  And they have great-looking baby gear (definitely a prime consideration for judging a parent is by the coolness of their baby gear).

Still, I'll take the classes. If only the commute wasn't such a bitch. 

Photo: farm.tucows.com