There's a line in the movie Parenthood that goes something like this: "You need a license to drive, a license to fish, heck, you even need a
license for your dog. But any [idiot] can be a parent." You don't need approval from anyone to get pregnant and become a mom.
On the other hand, if you want to adopt a baby, you have to go through a pretty intense application process. Among other things, you have to be fingerprinted, provide recommendations, give evidence of your physical and mental health, and sometimes you even have to be a certain religion, or be married for a certain amount of time.
Angelina Jolie thinks that adoptive parents are more fit to raise a child than biological parents because their backgrounds and personalities are scrutinized to see if they're up for the challenge. But when she gave birth to a baby nobody investigated anything.
She said, "It should be hard to be a parent, period. I go through many things to adopt. I'm fingerprinted, I'm checked, I go through home studies. I have to prove I'm a decent citizen; a good human being. That didn't happen to me when I gave birth, so it's interesting that there's no background check when you bring a child into your home in that way."
This week, Mommy Blogger Lisa Belkin asked in her blog Motherlode, "Should Parenting Require a License?" She says she's beginning to think so after seeing so many stories in the news about "bad" parents. One of the stories that upset her recently included adoptive parents who failed to report that their 11-year-old son was missing. That just goes to show you that any parent—biological or adoptive—can be neglectful.
So what about the idea that we all need to get licenses to become and stay parents? Maybe we'd have to pass a test, take continuing ed classes, and get our licenses renewed every so often.
Should you need a license to have a baby?
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Comments 45
One should have to have a license to have sex.
Absolutely! Even barring the so-called "bad parents," every day parents do things that emotionally scar their children. Its just not bad enough for anyone to get involved....but just as damaging as any other type of abuse or neglect.
Honestly, it makes me sick to think that people actually think this would be okay. Talk about violating our most basic right. The right to reproduce and pass on our DNA is not one that any other person can have taken from them. All of you who think this is okay, think really hard and be honest with yourself, would you have been allowed to have children if someone else was in charge of decideding if you would be a fit parent. Sure its easy to say it would be a good idea maybe it would keep deabeats from having children, until some government official decides your unfit just because you might have tried pot once while in college. No its pure insanity to think that this would be an okay thing to do.....In my humble opinion
i don't think neccesarly a "license" but classes and everything i do agree with. especially for the teen parents. no i'm not saying theyre bad, i'm a teen mom myself, but most don't learn as quickly as others do. i'm thankful my mom was there to teach me things. so classes yes, license? not so much.
I wish they required educational courses at the very least. BUT... while in theory lisences would rock, it does seem to violate some basic human rights to deny someone the right to parent.
Of course, on the other hand, one could ask "why is having a baby more of a basic right than driving a car?" After all, both (if you're not ready to do) endanger other lives. Yet, for some reason people are always shocked and horrified that anyone would suggest lisences for parents. Go figure.
Oh man! I have been waiting for somone to bring this top up. YEs!! You should have a license to have kids becasue there so many of kids who are being neglected. Having kids is a privelige and not a right!!!!!!!! I wish there was a law that says you have to be mentally evaluated before having kids.
For sure! there are to many unwilling parents out there that just let their children run amock because they do not care or abuse them. But in reality... Maybe first time parents should be given an in depth course on raising a baby all the way to adulthood. A lot of people even some I know had or are having children because they want a 'baby' What they don't think about is that that baby is going to grow up to be a back talking toddler to a wild child to a misguided teen without the will to raise them proporly.
I think new parents should take a class and maybe be certified or licensed. The only thing wrong with that is if we were licensed for that, we would have to pay, pay, pay. The powers that be would have to have to get their share of it. So, maybe just have a class while mom is in the hospital..... It wouldn't have to be a long class as long as they touched on the issues that need to be addressed.. Or maybe someone could write a book about new moms and dads. And give that book to new moms. A new mom could benefit a lot from that. Some teens make wonderful moms, they just need a little advice now and again. Some times they get overwhelmed with questions. Lots of Love pommom335
so what if a woman still gets pregnant without having a liscense? The baby gets put into foster care or what? I only seeing needing a liscense to become a parent only causing more problems than solving them.
Just take a look at the foster care system and all the poor kids in it because of BAD parenting. And with bad parenting comes a large number of problems with the children who have suffered from it and I do mean SUFFER.