Parenting Classes

After having long discussions with a few friends yesterday, last week, and semi-listening to Dr. Phil as my mum was watching him today, I came to realize that we could argue, discuss, and fight all day about how to be good husbands/wives, or good parents, and still get nowhere. Why get nowhere? Coz being good partners or parents is not something you are taught as you do History, Maths, or what not. None of us took parenting classes in school nor in university nor are we programmed to think that we'd need such a thing. But in actuality, we ALL are scared of marriage and of being parents because its such a huge responsibility; its unfamiliar ground where alot is expected of you and we expect alot from others and just are not sure if these are the right things to expect or not. Sometimes we know exactly what we want to teach our kids but have no clue HOW to teach it to them. We all worry about turning into our own parents, but again have only them to learn from. How come parenting classes dont exist? Something as important as developing the citizens of the future should be put into a classroom! You are not just born with the skills to be a good wife or good mother, you develop it, and learn it whether from imitating your own mother or others...but dont you wish you could have taken some sort of class on it? A class where you got to be tested on your knowledge of such a thing? I know I would definately feel more confident knowing I got an A in a parenting class before having my first baby! It may seem silly but its true...I want a child whom I can protect without choking, teach him to know right from wrong without hiding him from the bad, trust him to make mature decisions without forbidding him from experimenting, but how can I do that? How can I be my child's friend without being his equal? How can I see him doing wrong, but hold my tongue and trust that I have given him the right skills to know his path back to the right? Its a pretty scary thing! And maybe our parents shouldnt be our only source of info...seriously, if you wanted to be a parent tomorrow or even in 10 years, how would you know where to start?