Parenthood licensing – a potential reality or a utopian vision?

Kušević, Barbara. (2009). Parenthood licensing – a potential reality or a utopian vision?. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 6(1-2). pp. 191-202. ISSN 1334-7888

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Abstract

The contemporary society is still dominated by a traditional paradigm that defines good parents as those who do not abuse or neglect their child. However, the dysfunctions found in contemporary families suggest a need for a change of paradigm from the one that sees parenthood as a biological right, to the one where parenthood is a privilege gained by the parents’ pedagogical competence. A licence for parenthood represents one of the ways of a systematic parenthood quality assessment. This study introduces the concept of parenthood licence, of criteria for obtaining it, and the arguments that support the idea of parenthood licensing, as well as those that point to the difficulty of maintaining such a practice. The aim of this overview is not to advocate an immediate introduction of parenthood licensing, but to outline its possible advantages in a society aiming to find various means of protecting children’s rights and ensuring quality family upbringing. In doing so, the study does not disregard a number of barriers that are (at the moment) disabling the introduction of the practice of parenthood licensing, and therefore approaches the concept as a utopian vision that is still not realistically possible.

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