Parenting: New Theories, Old Wives' Tales, and Good Advice

image courtesy Kitt Walker
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Taught by Example

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Parenting is terrifying. Well, it can be. There is a metric ton of information floating around about the Best Way to raise a kid.  Some of it is helpful and a lot of it really, really unhelpful. Some of it suggests that you wear your baby 24/7 like you're a human kangaroo. This is a class for everyone-- parents, future parents, and non-parents--who ever wondered which of this advice was crazy and which really works. Taught by a nanny who's seen all the parenting mistakes and triumphs up close, the information is no nonsense but entertaining. However, people who believe in the beauty of baby-wearing may not enjoy it.

We'll be covering a lot of topics and dispelling more than a few myths.

Food - Good news! Kids don't necessarily need to subsist off frozen chicken nuggets and crackers, but only if you rid your pantry of a few so-called "staples." We'll go over the best nutrition for babies and toddlers (it's not necessarily what the Organic Baby Food Empire would have you think) as well as how to make mealtimes stress-free. 
Breastfeeding - Breast milk boosts your baby's IQ and cures cancer. At least, that's what Mommy Yoga group in Park Slope says. 
Gender Stereotyping - We shall decode and declaw the world of Disney princesses and GI Joe IEDs. 
Intellectual Development - What "brain boosting" activities actually work, and what is just scamming poor, uninformed parents who want their kids to learn Mandarin by 3? 
Emotional Development - How to avoid raising a stripper with daddy issues.
Moral Development - How to avoid raising a serial killer with mommy issues.
Discipline - Okay so honestly, your kid is probably going to throw tantrums no matter what you do, BUT you can minimize their frequency and duration if you follow a couple simple steps. 
Parenting for the Parents - How to treat your partner so that you don't strangle each other before Junior starts walking.

As Hugh Grant notes in the otherwise mediocre romantic comedy Nine Months, "The state requires you to take a written test to drive a car, but any moron can become a parent." Don't be a moron. Take a class and learn how to raise a happy smart kid who only rarely throws tantrums in Duane Reade.

(There'll be some snacks and drinks too; class size 15, lecture/discussion/q&a)

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