De kracht van alledaags ouderschap

Abstract The strength of ordinary parenthood. Promoting life skills of parents Parental life skills are proven to have a positive effect on parents’ well-being and on the development of their children. Recent developments in Dutch youth policies are more demanding of parents’ own strength and with that of their life skills. It is therefore important to determine which life skills or “21st century skills” parents indicate to require to strengthen their parenthood. Subsequently, professionals working with parents can connect their interventions to this. The aim of this study was to assess whether, according to parents, life skills effectively contribute to strengthen them. Semi structured interviews were conducted among 110 parents (74 mothers, 36 fathers) in different stages of parenthood, from pregnancy until the child moves out. Questions in the interview covered the five life skills: self- awareness, self- management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision- making. Parents indicated a preference to develop themselves in dealing with stressful situations in the parental workplace and planning of tasks (self-management), dealing with conflicts and effective communication (relational skills), and making the right decisions for their child (responsible decision-making). Besides this, differences exist between parents in different stages of parenthood and their self-confidence as a parent. Parents feel most insecure during their child’s preschool puberty and adolescence periods. To strengthen parents, more attention must be given to what they indicate to require in terms of life skills, when they are feeling vulnerable and in which areas they would like to develop themselves. Then not only will a connection be made to the parents’ needs, a contribution to the well-being of families will be made as well.